Charming, fit, well-dressed and with the aura of an Italian charmer permeating his every move, Eric Roveta left his impressive villa in Varkiza on Friday 29 March driving a Porsche convertible.
He had the top down, as the weather was wonderful and nothing seemed to spoil his mood until the moment he was spotted and stopped by officers of the Sub-Directorate of Search for Archives & Identities of the Attica Security Directorate.
In the check that followed he was immediately identified as the person for whom an international arrest warrant and an Interpol red notice had been issued, the consequence of which was that he was initially taken into custody in GADA.
According to the authorities and numerous Spanish-language media reports, Roberto is alleged to be part of an international scheme to steal fuel from Venezuela and embezzle cryptocurrency, worth a total of $26 billion.
Cryptocurrencies have been the only form of payment for Venezuelan oil exports since the international embargo imposed on the Maduro regime.
The Italian broker, who has been living in the country for at least eight years, pleads not guilty to the charges against him in Venezuela and appeared before the prosecutor of the Appeals Court in total opposition to his extradition to that country.
Until a Council of Appeal is appointed and convenes, which will rule for or against his extradition, he remains in custody as one of the main protagonists in this international fraud.
Both he and his wife have taken down their personal Facebook profiles in recent days, which is to be expected after the furore that erupted with his arrest.
It was a hot summer day, July 2018 to be exact, when guests of Eric and Glenda began to arrive in Spetses for their upcoming wedding.
Their meeting a few years ago when the charming Italian woman came to settle permanently in Greece proved to be a catalyst for the broker who left his previously single life behind.
A lover of the sea, Eric Roveta chose the southern suburbs as his place of residence and when he became a couple with Glenda Lorenzani they decided to live together initially in a house somewhat smaller than the impressive villa in Varkiza.
Their civil wedding was attended by friends from Greece and Italy, the bride arrived by boat, and the ceremony was followed by a wild party with lots of dancing, ending with a dip in the sea for Eric and his friends.
The arrival of their young son in 2017 completed their happiness, while on a professional level, Robeta worked as a shipbroker at Albatross Maritime S.A. in Glyfada, according to his LinkedIn profile.
His wife initially started as a gallery owner with Domus Art Project and later housed Domus Art Gallery in their impressive villa in Varkiza.
The couple moved comfortably in shipping and art circles and the Glenda gallery hosted several art events in which contemporary artists, such as Iranian painter Marjan Fahimi, presented their work.
Roveta was reportedly present at the ‘Posidonia’, the established celebration of Greek shipping, without anyone who knew him suspecting that he was involved, according to the authorities, in the international oil theft and cryptocurrency embezzlement ring from Venezuela.
Tanker business
In the summers, however, when he was often seen at the “Island” dining with his wife and friends, always smiling and with his outgoing personality, no one imagined his role in an international illegal ring, according to the accusations levelled against him by the Venezuelan authorities.
The PDVSA-CRYPTO scandal, as has been reported by international media, concerns the state oil and gas company of the country ruled by Nicolas Maduro in recent years.
Roveta is alleged to have played an influential role in the group of businessmen from various countries around the world, as well as high-ranking Venezuelan state officials who set up the ‘deal’.
According to the evidence, the Italian had brokered the management of the tankers, using legitimate shipping companies as a front because of the embargo on Venezuela.
As soon as the oil loading was completed, the satellite tracking of the tankers would disappear for days and reappear later at various points.
Their cargo had simply disappeared with excuses such as serious damage or a pirate raid, while Roveta and the management team had obtained satellite tracking devices from stalled shipping company vessels in Asian ports.
Payment in crypto
These devices were then placed on tankers breaking the Venezuelan embargo through legitimate shipping companies that Roweta had allegedly set up.
Another method was for these ships to remain on the loading dock for months, with the correspondingly high daily charges, which gradually amounted to several million euros.
The big trick, however, has to do with the payments, since they were all made in cryptocurrencies, due to the embargo imposed on Venezuela.
The Spanish-language media are talking about a sum of around USD 26 billion allegedly reaped by the masterminds of the scheme, most of which has disappeared.
This was taken care of by the leaders of the ring and high-ranking government officials who made the ‘digital wallet’ disappear, resulting in the detection of… only 4.6 billion.
The huge deficit was only revealed last January, while the scandal was revealed several months earlier. Among those indicted was Erik Roveta.
PM Mitsotakis addresses the delegates at the 15th Congress of New Democracy (video-photos)
The offences with which he is charged are participation, as a member, in a criminal organisation, illegal circulation and trade in strategic resources and oil smuggling.
The Venezuelan government requested the assistance of Interpol and its red notice did not take long to be issued, and its result did not take long to “meet” Roberto.
The arrest in Dubai
When he travelled to Dubai a few months ago, the computers at passport control “sounded” the alarm because of the Interpol warrant and the authorities arrested the Italian yacht broker.
Following the procedure followed in such cases, Eric Roveta went through a trial but was acquitted and returned back to Greece and his family, which had grown up after having a son, now 7 years old. Roveta even has a tattoo of the boy’s name.
Until last November, no one had bothered him about the case.
But on the 13th of this month, he was arrested because of the red notice by the Greek police. He was detained for a few days and eventually released, since the necessary documents of the indictment had not been sent to the Greek authorities from Venezuela.
His lawyer until recently, Yannis Marakakis, who has known both Erik Roveta and his wife Glenda Lorentzani for years on a social level, believes that he was a simple broker.
In Venezuela, however, they have a different opinion about the identity of the charming Italian who the authorities had been looking for since August 2023 when the Interpol red notice “exploded”.
