On July 23, 2020, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated brothers, Santiago Jose Moron Hernandez and Ricardo Jose Moron Hernandez, pursuant to Executive Order 13692, as amended, for their support of Maduro Guerra and the regime of his father Nicolas Maduro, who were also designated, respectively, in 2019 and 2017 under E.O. 13692, as amended.
Maduro Guerra, Santiago and Ricardo are considered central figures in Venezuela’s gold industry, and are accused of participating in unlawful transactions involving the sale of gold mined in Venezuela that was dispatched from the Central Bank of Venezuela (designated in 2019 pursuant to E.O. 13850, as amended), with Santiago and Ricardo allegedly handling the financial aspects of the illicit transactions. Santiago, Maduro Guerra’s principal assistant, and Ricardo, who oversaw Maduro Guerra’s operations, are sanctioned by OFAC for their material, financial and technological support of the Maduro regime – Santiago for his support of Maduro Guerra, and Ricardo for supporting public corruption of senior officials in the Venezuelan government.
As a result of these designations, all US property belonging to these individuals is blocked, and all transactions in the US are generally prohibited. Furthermore, any entity that is owned 50 percent or more by a designated individual is also blocked.