Citgo sues Miami firm over millions lost in Venezuela fraud
By JOSHUA GOODMAN Associated Press Writer
MIAMI (AP) — Oil company Citgo has filed a lawsuit against a Miami-based businessman it accuses of paying huge bribes to company officials connected to Nicolás Maduro’s socialist government in exchange for lucrative contracts. The lawsuit filed Tuesday in Houston federal court alleges Jose Manuel González gave artwork, cash, chartered flights and even a Houston apartment to unnamed senior Citgo executives. The lawsuit seeking to recover millions of dollars lost to corruption at Citgo is the second in as many weeks brought by the U.S. subsidiary of Venezuela’s state-owned oil monopoly. The U.S. handed control of Citgo to opposition leader Juan Guaidó as part of the Trump administration’s campaign to remove Maduro.