The links of a mysterious businessman and "parallel diplomacy" with Venezuela

Oscar Eusebio Giménez Ayesa was a decisive and little-known figure in bilateral trade relations with Venezuela during Kirchnerism. He had a direct dialogue with the president

Hugo Chavez

until something broke between them. And he had to leave Venezuela. That's when he invested millions of dollars in the affairs of the controversial businessman
Raúl Mingini, with whom he managed accounts and companies abroad, and negotiated bribes to Venezuelan authorities, according to banking and commercial documents that he obtained
THE NATION, who also accessed the internal accounting and e-mails of this group.

Essential reference of
"parallel diplomacy" with the Bolivarian regime, Giménez Ayesa thus became the third major source of funding channeled by
Mingini's business. It also includes federal judges of the courts of Comodoro Py and the lawyer Miguel Ángel Plo, prosecuted in the "bribery notebooks" case for his alleged role in the maneuvers intended to conceal tens of millions of dollars to the former private secretary of Kirchner,

Daniel Muñoz

.

Partners of Madero Trading and Madero del Plata, "traders" suspected of channeling the bribes of Argentine companies involved in trade with Venezuela – especially those of agricultural machinery – Giménez Ayesa have attempted several bilateral projects with Mingini. Among others, with the state companies Veximca (Venezuelan export and import), Corpovex (Venezuelan foreign trade company) and Suvinca (Venezuelan industrial supplies). In each of them, there was talk of paying bribes or even turning Chavez officials into partners in the gestation sector.

"Today, I was with the Vice President of Subinca [sic]these children were very clear [sic] and I already gave the name of the company (which they discovered there). They want 40%[;] our 20 have already confirmed, "on January 21, 2015, Mingini reported to Giménez Ayesa and two other Argentine partners in Caracas, as indicated on the copy, a dozen emails obtained
THE NATION.

Mingini's partners initially opposed this arrangement, which doubled the company's shares by 20%, which they had already agreed to cede to Venezuelan officials. Giving a higher percentage of the company and, therefore, the company – "to a manager who does not know how long it will stay in office is risky. When the authorities change to Veximca and Suvinca , which are the most common in Venezuela, what's wrong? ", they asked Mingini, although they then accepted the request, which he rebuilt
THE NATIONhe did not prosper because of other factors.

Consulted by
THE NATION for this note, however, Mingini denied having received or suggested an undue proposal. "Not that I know, I have not participated in any negotiations, nor worked with any government. [a Venezuela] to set up a factory that has not prospered. But nobody has asked me for anything, "he said, a version that contradicts what he expressed in those letters and others that he has exchanged with his partners .

At that time, Giménez Ayesa had already paid at least US $ 4 million to the DF group that Mingini runs in La Plata. The flow went through several channels. Among them, through "Perfinsa" a "cave" in the city of Buenos Aires which, in the newspapers, was registered as a "credit cooperative" and which in 2018 was sanctioned by the Financial Information Unit (FIU) for multiple offenses of anti-money laundering regulations.

Consulted by
THE NATIONGiménez Ayesa denied any connection with Mingini or invested millions of dollars, without declaring, in La Plata. "I have nothing to do," he replied from Paraná, where he now resides. Cordially, he argued that he could perhaps speak "later", which did not happen. But his daughter, from the United States, and his partner in Palmat, Roberto Wellisch, have confirmed this relationship.

"Mingini took a lot, a lot of my dad, it was a scam and my dad never got anything back," confirmed Miami's Victoria Giménez.
THE NATION, while Wellisch confirmed that his partner had invested with Mingini and had gone wrong. "That's right, I visited the factory [de La Plata] with friends. None of us liked what we saw. I told Oscar "do not involve," but he had the same thing. "

On consultation with
THE NATIONMingini admitted that his relationship with Giménez Ayesa – a native Argentina who spent decades in Venezuela and returned to Argentina after his fight with Chávez – ended "more or less", but she blamed it on his ex-partner. "According to him, I did not meet him, in my opinion, he did not fill me."

Former Guyana Bank, Giménez Ayesa has not only used a "cave" to operate with Mingini. He also used his professional expertise to transform funds of four, five and six figures at a time without going through Argentina. For example, via the account 201001272355, opened in the name of "Establecimientos DF SA" in the Panamanian subsidiary of Banco Banesco, according to the bank documents of which a copy was obtained.
THE NATION.

The transfer of funds was also transferred via another account opened in the name of Interal Ltd, an offshore company established in the British Virgin Islands under the name of Mingini and the accountant of Giménez Ayesa, also domiciled in Panama, has documents from company to which he agreed
THE NATION.

The accountant of Mingini and Giménez Ayesa also allowed Trident Trust, another company established in the British Virgin Islands, linked to two offshore companies – Aramo Trust Co. Limited and International Food Trading & Export Inc. – and the daughter of Giménez Ayesa, Victoria, beneficiary

The channels that Giménez Ayesa used to finance or bring to Argentina do not stop there. It has also used other offshore companies consisting of tax havens. Among them, Blue Global Limited, through another operating account of Banco Banesco that has received transfers from Morgan Stanley Wealth Management.

Mingini was not left out either. While he was responsible for the exchange "cepo" in Argentina, he turned to the offshore company Bol Mustang Investment LLC, which also operated through an account in the Panamanian subsidiary of Banesco. He identified himself as an alleged "engineer", as evidenced by the account opening forms he obtained.
THE NATIONand one of his daughters appeared to be authorized to move six-figure funds in dollars.

Why so much obsession for offshore operations? Among other reasons, because Giménez Ayesa was already under judicial control and covered by a journalist for his participation in the "parallel diplomacy" with Venezuela, which was led by the Argentine Claudio Uberti until his resignation following the scandal of "the Antonini affair". and José María Olazagasti, private secretary to Minister Julio de Vido.

15% commissions

The eyes were focused on Madero Trading and Madero del Plata because, with the badociated company Palmat, they charged 15% commissions to Argentine businessmen who wanted to export to Venezuela when the actual "fees" did not exceed 3%, as indicated by the previous ones. employees of these companies and entrepreneurs to
THE NATION although the judicial inquiry has never prospered.

During these years, Giménez Ayesa joined the "Group of Twelve", a handful of Argentineans working for Venezuela from the offices of Puerto Madero and who also integrated their partners into Madero Trading – José Ernesto Rodríguez and Luis Chiesa , and officials Uberti, Olazagasti and the former ambbadador to Caracas, Carlos Cheppi, among others.

Among his collaborators, Giménez Ayesa has always been talkative. Thus, he confided that they had renamed Madero del Plata in Madero Trading at the request of President Chávez, who had deemed it inappropriate to delegate Bolivarian activities to a company with the English name. And he also nicknamed some officials for the black fortune he badigned them. For example, in De Vido, he said "700".

However, his best moment was left behind after his fight against Chávez and the media exposure of "parallel diplomacy". This has led to hiding, for example, its investments in two vineyards of Mendoza out of a total of 159 hectares that have received "black and white" funds from Palmat and the offshore offshore Investment Co, its accountant in the document "Suggestions to regularize the existing situation" which obtained
THE NATION.

"It is badumed that journalism links Wellisch to a contingency. [Roberto, dueño de Palmat], Giménez and the vineyards, obviously harming the future development of this one million dollar company, as in the case of Madero "Trading", warned the accountant, who in another document, recommended to "destroy" the most compromising documents to prevent them from reaching "unscrupulous hands."