https://www.dcnewsnow.com/news/local-news/virginia/alexandria/venezuelan-national-accused-of-laundering-1-billion-in-illicit-funds/

A Venezuelan national is facing criminal charges after he was accused of laundering thousands of dollars in illicit funds.

According to a criminal complaint filed in the Eastern District of Virginia, Jorge Figueira, 59, was charged with conspiracy to launder money.

Court documents detailed that the laundering network allegedly used various bank accounts, cryptocurrency exchange accounts, private cryptocurrency wallets and more to launder large amounts of money in and out of the United States.

Figueira is accused of using a series of steps to convert the money to cryptocurrency that was linked to several digital wallets. According to the attorney’s office, he would then send the money to liquidity providers to exchange the cryptocurrency for dollars before transferring the funds to his bank accounts.

“The FBI has identified approximately a billion dollars’ worth of cryptocurrency that was passed through crypto wallets utilized by Figueira and his laundering operation to individuals and businesses throughout the world,” said Reid Davis, special agent in charge of the FBI Washington Field Office’s Criminal Division. “By enlisting subordinates and conducting scores of transfers, Figueira sought to conceal the nature of the funds, potentially facilitating criminal activity in numerous countries.”

The complaint alleged that more than $1 billion moved through the cryptocurrency wallet and several financial accounts.

Officials noted that the majority of outbound money was sent to various businesses and people located in the U.S. and overseas, including Colombia, China, Panamá and Mexico.

If Figueira is convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison.