U.S. District Judge Melissa Damian entered a final judgment on January 8, 2025, forfeiting more than $20 million in foreign bribery and money laundering proceeds to the United States. The funds, totaling approximately $21.2 million, were seized as part of a civil forfeiture case filed by the Justice Department in August 2023.
The civil forfeiture complaint alleged that between 2008 and 2014, Venezuelan national Naman Wakil controlled multiple companies that sold food products to Venezuela’s state-owned food agency, Corporacion de Abastecimiento y Servicios Agricola (CASA). To secure these contracts, Wakil paid tens of millions of dollars in bribes to multiple CASA presidents. These illegal payments led to hundreds of millions of dollars in proceeds, which Wakil laundered through financial accounts in the Cayman Islands and Switzerland and later funneled into South Florida and other locations.
“This forfeiture is a reminder that the United States is prepared to uphold the integrity of the U.S. financial system against those who elect to launder ill-gotten gains by depositing and transferring those funds through U.S. financial accounts,” said Markenzy Lapointe, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida.
The case highlights the ongoing efforts of law enforcement agencies to safeguard the U.S. financial system from illicit activities. José R. Figueroa, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Miami, emphasized that HSI will continue its work to ensure accountability for those attempting to launder money through U.S. financial institutions.
“This significant forfeiture underscores the commitment of the HSI Miami El Dorado Task Force,” Figueroa stated.
Stefanie Hipkins, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Miami Field Office, reiterated the government’s dedication to holding foreign bribery and money laundering offenders accountable.
“This forfeiture of more than $20 million demonstrates our resolve to disrupt criminal networks,” Hipkins said.
The investigation was conducted by HSI Miami and the IRS-CI Miami Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Marx P. Calderón, Michael Berger, and Joshua Paster prosecuted the case.
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