What many suspected, was confirmed east Friday in a court of Miami by Carlos Kauffman. He and their partner Franklin Durán paid tens of millions of dollars in bribes to the military, ex- governors, ex- ministers and civil servants of smaller sum of the Venezuelan Government.

The governor of Cojedes was mentioned directly by Carlos Kauffman

Carlos Kauffmann and Franklin Durán are accused to be associated to hide that 800,000 dollars of a briefcase confiscated in Buenos Aires were supposedly destined to an Argentine political campaign.

Kauffmann, that declared under oath to order of the office of the public prosecutor in the judgment of its Durán partner, expressed that both were sure that if managed to conceal the scandal of the briefcase, “we were going to receive great contracts, great sums of money”.

In agreement with the office of the public prosecutor, Kauffmann, Durán and other three defendant they acted illegally like agents of the Venezuelan Government to hide that the money of the briefcase was one of the so many shipments of Chávez to the presidential campaign of now president Cristina Fernandez.

In the seventh week of the judgment of Durán, Kauffmann, of 36 years, declared without the presence of the jury. The judge must still decide if she will allow or not his testimony before the juries, in the final stage of the judgment.

In the beginning of the hearing, the defense counsel of Durán, Ed Shohat, asked to him to the magistrada one that he did not allow the testimony of Kauffmann, when considering that “he will bring in risk the action”. He also solicitd that outside closed the room and that the press could not be present at the declarations.

Shohat has alleged that Durán was induced by the FBI and the American government to become jumbled with the scandal of the briefcase.

Magistrada Joan Lenard, nevertheless, misestimated her order.

The office of the public prosecutor asked that Kauffmann declared to demonstrate that the criminal conduct of Durán, of 41 years, goes back back to years. They were partners about 10 years ago and it shared by equal parts, 50% each, the businesses, said Kauffmann.

Million dollars
Throughout his testimony, the industralist revealed that along with Durán they paid to million dollars of bribes to the National Guard of Venezuela and the ministries of Finances and Education to be able to maintain the businesses that realised with these institutions.

Also they maintained multimillionaires corrupt businesses with the governments of the states of Cojedes and Vargas.

Kauffmann indicated that their contacts were civil servants of high positions of those portfolios, that generally handled the finances, among them general Victor Jose Medina, that administered the finances of the National Guard; the governor of the state Cojedes, Jhonny Yánez Rangel; the governor of the state Vargas, Antonio Rodriguez; and the ex- minister of finances Tobías Nobrega.

For the National Guard, for example, he explained that they handled to the money of the budget between 1998 and the 2001 to him, placing it in banks and remaining with a 10% of the money - half for each of them like part of his honoraria.

In addition he said that bribes to civil servants of the guard paid to maintain sales contracts of objects, that it did not specify which were.

“We administered its money”, expressed the industralist, who calm Lucia and was dressed in clear brown suit of prisoner.

On the other hand, the industralists gained 100 million dollars in an operation to reconstruct the debt of Venezuela. In that business with the ministry of Finances they won near 100 million dollars and paid around 23.8 million in bribes to four civil servants of that portfolio, that Kauffmann identified like minister Nobrega, ex- vice-minister of Finances Jesus Bermúdez, the director of Public Credit Alexander Dopazo, and financial advisor Lenin Eyrie.

Durán and Kauffmann also contributed with 250,000 dollars to the political campaign of Antonio Rodriguez, in Vargas, and soon they became jumbled with the administration of the bottoms of the budget of that state, of similar way that they did since it in Cojedes.

In addition, between the 2000 and the 2008 they received about 30 million dollars by businesses of construction with the state Vargas and paid 10% of that money in bribes to two civil servants of that state, indicated Kauffmann.

He also explained that next to Durán they knew Yánez Rangel when still was in political campaign and they offered his private airplane to him so that it moved from a place to another one. When Yánez Rangel was chosen governor began to administer the money of Cojedes and placed the bottoms in different banks, among them Bancoro. By this task they received as payment a 10% of the money and soon 35% of to that gave it amount like bribes to high civil servants of the state, among them the governor.

Kauffmann, that already had declared previously in the judgment like witness of the office of the public prosecutor, declared culprit of the accusations to evolve illegally as agent of a foreign government and to be associated illicitly to hide to the origin and the destiny of the money of the briefcase. It decided to cooperate with the American authorities so that they reduce his sentence to him, and still waits for the sentence.

Durán, however, is the unique one of the defendant who declared innocent and for that reason it faces a judgment. If the jury considers culprit, could be condemned a maximum of 15 years of prison. (AP)