CARACAS, (Reuters) – Former PDVSA President Rafael Ramirez denied as “irresponsible lies” a Venezuelan congressional investigation accusing the state oil company of corruption to the tune of $11 billion during his decade-long tenure.
The National Assembly’s comptroller commission on Wednesday accused PDVSA of failing to account for the money, lost it says between 2004 and 2014 when Ramirez was at the helm.
“I want to totally DENY the lies, declarations and infamies of those lawmakers and the ‘supposed report,’” said Ramirez in a statement published on the website of the Venezuelan mission to the United Nations, which he now leads. (https://goo.gl/dgXbi7)
“(They) act with absolute irresponsibility and brazenly lie in order to push forward a campaign to discredit and morally lynch the leaders of the revolution,” he added in the 1,000-word response.
PDVSA has been the linchpin of Hugo Chavez’s revolution for 17 years, currently providing 94 percent of export revenue.
