Ex-officials at Venezuela's PDVSA pleaded guilty in bribe case: U.S.

The former officials at Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA) pleaded guilty under seal in December to conspiracy to commit money laundering. Their pleas were unsealed by a federal judge in Houston on Tuesday.

The ex-PDVSA officials are Jose Luis Ramos Castillo, 38; Christian Javier Maldonado Barillas, 39; and Alfonzo Eliezer Gravina Munoz, 53.

The U.S. Justice Department said each has admitted to accepting bribes from two Venezuelan businessmen, Roberto Rincon and Abraham Jose Shiera Bastidas, who were charged in December with violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

Shiera, who lives in Miami and owned multiple U.S.-based energy companies, pleaded guilty on Tuesday. One of his employees, Moises Abraham Millan Escobar, pleaded guilty under seal to a conspiracy charge in January, prosecutors said .... http://www.reuters.com