After the arrest of Colombian businessman Alex Saab by Cape Verde authorities, his brother-in-law, Italian Lorenzo Antonelli, is said to be in charge of overseeing the movement of gold extracted from Venezuela, according to an investigation by the Colombian daily El Tiempo.
The media points out that both Antonelli and his sister, Camila Fabri aim to become key players in the network that the businessman set up for the exploitation of Venezuelan gold, and to make million-dollar sales of the so-called Clap boxes of subsidized foodstuffs. Fabri is also the current couple of Saab.
You must read The mark of Alex Saab is all over the Vargas state
Below, we present the keys to the research by El Tiempo:
- According to the Colombian newspaper, Camila Fabri, 27, is mentioned by the Nicolas Maduro regime in the letters it sent to Cape Verde to seek to stop the extradition of Saab to the United States.
- The United Kingdom and the Italian tax authorities were the first to put the spotlight on Saab’s model girlfriend and brother-in-law. Eventually, they both had 1.8 million euros confiscated by the European Authorities.
- In October 2018, when she was only 25, Antonelli allegedly signed a contract with Compañía General de Minería de Venezuela, for the exploration, search for deposits, exploitation, and gold extraction in the polemical Mining Arc.
- Lorenzo was one of the original partners in a Turkish-Venezuelan state-controlled mining concern, Minera Binacional Turquia Venezuela (Mibiturven S. A.). Saab also was tied to that company.
- The contract was signed, on behalf of the Maduro government, by Tareck El Aissami, current oil minister from the regime, and the Italian, representing Marilyns Dis Ticaret Ve Madencilik AS, a Turkish company tied to Saab.
- According to El Tiempo, Marilyns company was registered in Istanbul, on May 2, 2014, under number 921299-0. The firm registers a London branch at 25 Jermyn Street Suite 29, Bank Chambers.
- Antonelli’s name already appears among the directors of other companies in Saab network: Adon Trading FZE, incorporated in the United Arab Emirates and supplier in the US-sanctioned scheme for the Clap boxes; and Glenmore Proje Insaat.
- Analysts and journalists from USA and Colombia, argue that Lorenzo was to Saab, what Saab was for Maduro: a trusted frontman.
Read the full story in Spanish here.
