Venezuelan oil tycoon Wilmer Ruperti was arrested yesterday, Thursday, by his country’s authorities, his legal representatives said today.

According to the law firm Winston & Strawn and statements made to Reuters, Ruperti was asked to attend a meeting with police at around 1:00 PM on Thursday, during which he was detained along with his bodyguards, who were later released. However, Ruperti himself remained in custody as of today. Authorities have not provided any explanation for his arrest. “We are concerned about his health,” the law firm noted.

At this time, the reason why Venezuelan authorities arrested Ruperti is still unclear, and the country’s Ministry of Information did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment.

Who is Wilmer Ruperti

Wilmer Ruperti is a shipowner and oil tycoon with close ties to Venezuela’s socialist governments. He became well known for assisting in transporting oil during the 2002-03 strike at the state oil company PDVSA, cementing his close relationship with then-President Hugo Chávez.

In recent years, his company, Maroil Trading, based in Geneva, became a major exporter of petroleum coke (a solid, carbon-rich byproduct of crude oil refining) from Venezuela under a contract signed with PDVSA. However, this partnership later faltered due to disagreements over payments and contract terms. In 2023, Reuters reported that PDVSA had suspended deliveries to Maroil.