Epstein Bought Venezuelan Oil Bonds on Advice From Chávez-Era
https://www.occrp.org/en/scoop/epstein-b...ra-insider
"Newly released documents show businessman Francisco D’Agostino visited Jeffrey Epstein’s private island, and advised his investments in PDVSA, Venezuela’s state oil company. Jeffrey Epstein bought Venezuelan oil bonds issued by the hardline socialist state’s national oil company, according to newly-released documents. He was advised in the purchases by Francisco D’Agostino, a businessman currently wanted in Venezuela on charges of money laundering and criminal association.
Emails included in the files released by the U.S. Department of Justice show that D’Agostino visited the Caribbean island owned by Epstein, which is at the center of sex trafficking allegations against him. In correspondence between the two men, D’Agostino advises Epstein in his purchase of bonds issued by Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA).
After talking business with D’Agostino, who holds both Venezuelan and Spanish citizenship, Epstein bought at least $4.5 million in oil bonds beginning in 2012. The bonds were set to mature in 2015 — during the period when Venezuela’s oil revenues collapsed, as corruption at PDVSA increased and production plummeted.
D’Agostino’s relationship with Epstein appears to have begun not in a financial institution or boardroom. Instead, emails refer to their meeting during a visit by D’Agostino to Epstein’s private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Little Saint James — which was sometimes referred to as “Little Saint Jeff’s.”
“I had so much fun in Little St Jeffery...and Jane, the water gazelle is really stunning...what a beautiful and smart girl,” D’Agostino wrote to Epstein in October 2012."
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Per El Nuevo Herald, Tether's banker Julio Herrera Velutini was illicitly moving money for D'Agostino and other sanctioned Venezuelan figures through his now-defunct bank, Britannia Bank & Trust, in Puerto Rico.
He was recently pardoned by President Trump.
https://x.com/MikeBurgersburg/status/202...39035?s=20
"Stablecoin giant Tether is diversifying its banking portfolio, adding another Bahamian financial institution to its network. According to insiders, Britannia Bank & Trust, a privately-held entity operating in the Bahamas, now processes dollar transfers for Tether.
This move comes amid mounting questions about the stablecoin issuer’s reserves and a general sentiment of skepticism surrounding its transparency."
https://beincrypto.com/tether-bahamian-b...-reserves/