Venezuela Acquits PDVSA Traders After Three Years in Detention

Two former Petroleos de Venezuela SA employees were acquitted by a judge on Saturday, after they had been found guilty in February 2021 of leaking information to a US-based company.

(Bloomberg) — Two former Petroleos de Venezuela SA employees were acquitted by a judge on Saturday, after they had been found guilty in February 2021 of leaking information to a US-based company.

Alfredo Chirinos and Aryenis Torrealba were set free, according to their attorney Antonio Molina. No additional details were provided. PDVSA and the Information Ministry didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment after hours.

The decision comes amid a wide corruption probe into the state-oil company’s finances that’s revealed billions in missing revenue and led to at least 21 arrests and the resignation of the nation’s oil minister, Tareck El Aissami, who’s also a close ally to the president.

Chirinos and Torrealba were initially charged of forging documents to sell oil and liquefied natural gas to a US-based company, according to a statement by a commission led in 2020 by El Aissami.

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