Questions mount over alleged US pressure on Swiss probe into Venezuelan businessman

A Swiss money laundering investigation has become entangled with Washington’s new oil diplomacy. Zurich prosecutors have investigated Venezuelan businessman Alejandro Betancourt since 2019, while a Washington Post investigation alleges that senior US officials intervened with Swiss authorities on his behalf.

The reported contacts followed the capture of former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro by US forces in January. Betancourt then emerged as a key intermediary between Washington and Caracas, with particular influence in Venezuela’s oil sector. His company is now described as the country’s second largest private oil producer.

The timing has intensified scrutiny in Switzerland. Last Friday, US President Donald Trump announced what he called a historic agreement with Venezuela. Betancourt’s company is expected to play a central role in the deal, which covers 17 oil fields and approximately 65 billion barrels of reserves.

The case places Zurich’s judicial authorities alongside a rapidly changing US policy toward Caracas. It also raises questions about how diplomatic priorities, commercial interests and an active Swiss criminal inquiry intersect when a businessman becomes useful to powerful governments.

The Washington Post says US officials pressed for Betancourt to keep moving and avoid criminal sanctions. According to the investigation, the State Department first contacted Switzerland’s Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. The US Department of Justice then held discussions with Switzerland’s attorney general.

The Federal Office of Justice confirmed to Swiss public broadcaster RTS that a “brief discussion” had taken place. Swiss officials said the attorney general referred his US counterparts to the Zurich public prosecutor’s office, which has jurisdiction over the investigation.

The Washington Post reported that subsequent discussions involved Zurich judicial authorities. The alleged message was that Betancourt should be allowed to travel and that the case should be resolved without criminal penalties.

Those details have not been independently established in the material available from Swiss authorities. The confirmed point is that American and Swiss officials communicated about a case being handled by Zurich prosecutors. That distinction matters under Switzerland’s federal structure, where cantonal prosecutors generally direct criminal investigations within their jurisdiction. The Federal Office of Justice has said the attorney general did not take over the case.

Switzerland’s role in the case reaches beyond one businessman. For years, Swiss oil traders and banks have faced exposure to Venezuela’s political crisis and to US sanctions policy. Swiss companies have traded Venezuelan crude, financed transactions or provided services connected to the country’s energy industry, making compliance decisions financially and legally consequential.

Betancourt’s position has changed sharply with the political upheaval in Caracas. He maintains close ties to Venezuelan authorities and has direct access to acting president Delcy Rodríguez, according to the report. After Maduro’s capture, those relationships made him a channel between Washington and Caracas, particularly over energy policy.

The reported agreement gives the commercial stakes a clear scale: 17 oil fields and around 65 billion barrels of reserves. Betancourt’s company would sit near the centre of a project involving Venezuela’s most valuable economic asset.

For Swiss institutions, the circumstances create competing pressures. Financial firms must assess sanctions and money laundering risks. Prosecutors must evaluate evidence under Swiss law. Diplomats must manage relations with the United States and Venezuela. None of those responsibilities disappears because a business deal has acquired strategic importance.