Turkish National Arrested in US for Venezuela Sanctions Evasion

Taskin Torlak, a Turkish national, was arrested in Miami for allegedly conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions by smuggling Venezuelan oil for the benefit of Venezuela's state-owned company, PdVSA. The scheme involved deceptive practices such as re-naming and re-flagging tankers to evade detection. Torlak and his co-conspirators reportedly received millions from PdVSA and concealed the transactions from U.S. financial institutions. The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Department of Justice, with investigations led by Homeland Security Investigations Washington D.C.