US arrests Turkish national accused of smuggling Venezuelan oil

US authorities have arrested Taskin Torlak, a 37-year-old Turkish national, in Miami as he tried to leave the country, gCaptain reports. He is charged with conspiring to violate US sanctions on Venezuela and its state oil company PdVSA. Prosecutors allege that from around November 2020 he ran an operation moving Venezuelan oil while hiding its origin by renaming and reflagging ships, covering up their names and switching off tracking systems. His network allegedly received tens of millions of dollars from PdVSA. Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen said the defendant had used deception "to smuggle black-market oil from Venezuela".

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