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A former senior Venezuelan official was sentenced on Tuesday by a US judge to a decade in prison in a federal prison for participating in a $ 1 billion corruption ploy.
Alejandro Andrade, former national treasurer, accepted a plea agreement and was sentenced by US District Judge Robin Rosenberg in Florida. He has released a $ 1 million bond and is expected to visit a federal penitentiary in February.
"I take full responsibility for my conduct," said Andrade, calmly reading a prepared statement.
Andrade, 54, said he felt "tremendous pain and remorse" and apologized to all those affected "in all possible ways".
The crisis in Venezuela worsens
The condemnation comes as Venezuela engulfs itself in an increasingly serious crisis that has starved millions of people and leads to an alarming rate of inflation.
US authorities are conducting a public inquiry into corruption targeting so-called Venezuelan "boliburgues", or elites, who have accumulated a huge fortune during the Bolivarian revolution of President Hugo Chavez and have lived in luxury while the situation in the country is changing.
Rigorous monetary controls in force in Venezuela for more than 10 years have been an important factor of corruption, allowing a small number of privileged individuals to acquire hard currency from the government at the official exchange rate and resell it on the black market for make huge profits.
During his meteoric career, Andrade was bodyguard to Chavez and became National Treasurer between 2007 and 2011. After leaving office, he settled in the exclusive Wellington enclave, in South Florida, known for its sumptuous ranches.
$ 1 billion in bribes
Andrade told the authorities that he had taken over a billion dollars in bribes from conspirators, including Raul Gorrin, owner of the Venezuelan TV channel Globovision, still on the run after being charged by the authorities US.
In its plea agreement, Andrade pledged to cooperate fully in the ongoing investigation and denied the maintenance of any link with the Venezuelan government, which demands his extradition.
"We hope the United States of America will hand it over to Venezuela," Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab recently said on television.
Andrade sold all his badets to US authorities, including houses, cars and horses.
Although he was able to deposit the $ 1 million bail, his attorneys claim that he has nothing left.
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