RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – María Gabriela Chávez, eldest daughter of the late leader Hugo Chávez, is singled out as the wealthiest woman in Venezuela.
She does not boast her wealthy life in New York, but financial documents disclosed the luxurious purchases made by the militant socialist in the most exclusive establishments in Manhattan.
The firstborn settled in the Big Apple in 2014, when she was appointed by Nicolas Maduro as Venezuela’s alternate ambassador to the UN, to “carry the commander’s message”.
At that time, a bank account was opened in the name of her partner, Venezuelan lawyer Roberto Leyba, to “cover personal expenses”.
According to official documents from Florida, the state where Mercantil Commercebank operated, the deposits reached several million dollars before being canceled on suspicion of money laundering.
The couple’s consumer habits, according to files obtained by Diario Las Américas, spared no whims or pleasures of any kind. The record shows purchases of several thousand dollars in stores such as Chanel (with a US$9,000 bill), Louis Vuitton, Hugo Boss, Michael Kors, and Kenneth Cole.
One of María Gabriela’s favorite stores seems to be MAC in Times Square, a store visited four times with bills of over US$1,600. She also visited Victoria’s Secret three times in only five days, and Forever 21 twice, with bills of over US$2,000.
Shoes seem to be another of her affinities: she shopped at Journeys, Converse, Lady Foot Locker, Niketown, and Ana Koordi Shows. According to Diario Las Américas, the total expense on shoes is over US$2,300.
Getting them between New York and Caracas was not a problem: they spent over US$4,000 in Tumi, a luxury luggage store.
Even pets benefited from the couple’s comfortable life, as the records show a visit to Zoomies, known as New York’s first “dog biscuit bar”.
To keep up with the latest technology, they bought electronics from Apple, Best Buy, Bose and Broadway Camera & Electronics.
In addition, to distract themselves and relax from shopping and diplomatic activity, they rubbed shoulders with the New York upper class at TAO, an exclusive restaurant where they paid for dinners of around US$600.
In addition, they bought tickets for shows at Madison Square Garden and musicals on Broadway. For a flawless look, there’s also a visit to Ricky’s, a renowned beauty salon with a distinguished clientele.
Concurrently, Venezuela was already suffering from one of the world’s highest inflation and a growing crisis of basic product scarcity.
Records also show up to three dwellings that may have been inhabited by the couple.
According to Primer Informe, a subsidiary of state-owned oil company PDVSA paid for an apartment on Hudson Street, which has a current rental value of US$11,000 per month. It is a few blocks from the famous building used for the “Friends” series.
In 2017, the same firm leased a second apartment in the 600 Washington Apartments complex, near the One World Trade Center, at a cost of US$7,391 per month.
In addition, the subsidiary Citgo paid for an apartment in the Tribeca area.
However, the investigation also focused on Leyba. María Gabriela’s boyfriend was involved in million-dollar transactions for the purchase of a ferry, an operation suspected of corruption due to massive surcharges.
In addition, there were transactions to Venezuelan citizens’ accounts in the US that were not adequately explained to the authorities.
The shopping raid, or at least those on record, ended in 2016 when the account was closed due to these inconsistencies.
The list of expenses was obtained because the account was included in a “suspicious activity” report, due to potential illegal sources of the funds, bearing in mind that Chávez was regarded as a “politically exposed person” by the US authorities.
According to the salary plans for diplomats on duty, María Gabriela could have earned a salary of US$8,500, which was not excessively high for the cost of living in New York, but would not match her level of spending.
In addition, diplomatic sources told Diario Las Américas that the UN representative of Chavism rarely fulfilled her role, as she seldom appeared because of her distant relationship with Rafael Ramírez, who was the ambassador at the time.
In her social networks, Chávez refrains from specifically addressing the accusations and replies, in general, that they are “insults”.
Last November, Luisa Ortega Díaz, the former attorney general of Venezuela, assured that the leader’s eldest daughter is the target of two investigations for money laundering. “The United States is on her trail,” she cautioned.
Source: Infobae