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'''Derwick Associates''' is a Venezuelan energy company specialized in the construction of turn-key power plant projects. Derwick has executed 11 projects in Venezuela that combined add up to 1.216MW of new generation capacity.<ref>{{cite web|author=El Nacional Web |url=http://www.el-nacional.com/economia/Premian-Centro-Tecnologico-Turbinas-Derwick_0_320368236.html |title=Premian en España al Centro Tecnológico de Turbinas de Derwick |language={{es icon}} |publisher=El-nacional.com |date= |accessdate=2014-04-14}}</ref> |
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'''Derwick Associates''' is a primarily [[Venezuela]]n [[engineering]] company. It is a contractor of the government of Venezuela. <ref>{{cite news|author=Luis Carías Toscano |url=http://www.el-nacional.com/economia/Derwick-edificado-plantas-termoelectricas-MW_0_271173186.html |title=Derwick ha edificado 11 plantas termoeléctricas que generan 1.386 MW |publisher=El-nacional.com |date= |accessdate=2014-03-29}}</ref>The company has been dogged by ongoing allegations of corruption and lawsuits in United States federal and state courts.[http://www.ultimasnoticias.com.ve/noticias/ciudad/parroquias/ipys-reconoce-investigacion-de-periodista-de-un.aspx][http://www.eluniversal.com/2011/08/15/oposicion-exige-revisar-plan-de-inversion-electrica] [http://www.semana.com/mundo/articulo/las-razones-los-robos-que-hicieron-fallar-el-sistema-electrico-en-venezuela/356401-3] [http://www.eluniversal.com/opinion/130806/runrunes][http://www.ultimasnoticias.com.ve/noticias/ciudad/videos--serie--trampas-electricas--de-un-premiada.aspx] [http://ipys.org.ve/alerta/autor-de-investigaciones-periodisticas-sobre-sector-electrico-es-citado-por-presunto-funcionario-de-policia-de-inteligencia-e-intimidado-por-empresa-contratista-2/] [https://www.wefightcensorship.org/tr/node/203html.html] [http://www.el-nacional.com/economia/Calculan-sobreprecio-plantas-supera-millardos_0_245375679.html][http://internacional.elpais.com/internacional/2013/09/05/actualidad/1378389465_768430.html] [http://www.americasquarterly.org/content/venezuelas-electricity-deficit]. The company denies all wrongdoing and has stated that it is the target of a defamation campaign. |
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==History and clients== |
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==Venezuelan power plant construction== |
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Derwick's first project was the Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) of Picure Power Plant in Vargas State for 156 MW, awarded by the state-owned Electricidad de Caracas in 2009. It was soon followed by 11 more contracts from the Venezuelan government with different state-owned entities such as PDVSA, CVG and Corpoelec during the 2009 - 2010 energy crisis in Venezuela. Four contracts were awarded by state-owned [[Electricidad de Caracas]] (which in December 2011 became part of [[Corpoelec]]), five by state-owned [[Petróleos de Venezuela]] SA (PDVSA, with the contract negotiated by Bariven, a division of PDVSA), and one by state-owned [[Corporación Venezolana de Guayana|Venezuelan Guayana Corporation]] (CVG). 70% of Venezuela's new power generation in 2012 was directed towards Caracas, Zulia and Anzoategui. Most of the incorporated units by Corpoelec where installed by Derwick.<ref>[http://www.el-nacional.com/economia/generacion-dirigio-Caracas-Zulia-Anzoategui_0_130189018.html 70% de nueva generación en 2012 se dirigió a Caracas, Zulia y Anzoátegui ''El Nacional'', 04 Feb 2013] Retrieved 13 Feb 2013.</ref> |
Derwick's first project was the Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) of Picure Power Plant in Vargas State for 156 MW, awarded by the state-owned Electricidad de Caracas in 2009. It was soon followed by 11 more contracts from the Venezuelan government with different state-owned entities such as PDVSA, CVG and Corpoelec during the 2009 - 2010 energy crisis in Venezuela. Four contracts were awarded by state-owned [[Electricidad de Caracas]] (which in December 2011 became part of [[Corpoelec]]), five by state-owned [[Petróleos de Venezuela]] SA (PDVSA, with the contract negotiated by Bariven, a division of PDVSA), and one by state-owned [[Corporación Venezolana de Guayana|Venezuelan Guayana Corporation]] (CVG). 70% of Venezuela's new power generation in 2012 was directed towards Caracas, Zulia and Anzoategui. Most of the incorporated units by Corpoelec where installed by Derwick.<ref>[http://www.el-nacional.com/economia/generacion-dirigio-Caracas-Zulia-Anzoategui_0_130189018.html 70% de nueva generación en 2012 se dirigió a Caracas, Zulia y Anzoátegui ''El Nacional'', 04 Feb 2013] Retrieved 13 Feb 2013.</ref> |
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==Venezuelan EPC projects<ref>{{cite news|author=Luis Carías Toscano |url=http://www.el-nacional.com/economia/Derwick-edificado-plantas-termoelectricas-MW_0_271173186.html |title=Derwick ha edificado 11 plantas termoeléctricas que generan 1.386 MW |publisher=El-nacional.com |date= |accessdate=2014-03-29}}</ref>== |
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* Picure (Completed). |
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* La Raisa I (Completed). |
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* La Raisa II (Completed). |
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* Guarenas I (Completed). |
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* Guarenas II (Completed). |
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* Adecuación Dual, Planta Juan Bautista Arismendi (Completed). |
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* Sidor Planta A (Completed). |
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* El Furrial (over 97% completion). |
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* Barinas (over 97% completion). |
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* Morichal (over 97% completion). |
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==Allegations of Corruption== |
==Allegations of Corruption== |
Revision as of 03:15, 22 April 2014
Native name | Derwick Associates de Venezuela SA |
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Industry | Energy |
Founded | 2007 |
Founder | Alejandro Betancourt López Pedro Trebbau López |
Headquarters | |
Products | Electrical power Natural gas |
Services | Engineering Power-plant construction |
Website | derwickassociates |
Derwick Associates is a Venezuelan energy company specialized in the construction of turn-key power plant projects. Derwick has executed 11 projects in Venezuela that combined add up to 1.216MW of new generation capacity.[1]
History and clients
Derwick's first project was the Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) of Picure Power Plant in Vargas State for 156 MW, awarded by the state-owned Electricidad de Caracas in 2009. It was soon followed by 11 more contracts from the Venezuelan government with different state-owned entities such as PDVSA, CVG and Corpoelec during the 2009 - 2010 energy crisis in Venezuela. Four contracts were awarded by state-owned Electricidad de Caracas (which in December 2011 became part of Corpoelec), five by state-owned Petróleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA, with the contract negotiated by Bariven, a division of PDVSA), and one by state-owned Venezuelan Guayana Corporation (CVG). 70% of Venezuela's new power generation in 2012 was directed towards Caracas, Zulia and Anzoategui. Most of the incorporated units by Corpoelec where installed by Derwick.[2]
Venezuelan EPC projects[3]
- Picure (Completed).
- La Raisa I (Completed).
- La Raisa II (Completed).
- Guarenas I (Completed).
- Guarenas II (Completed).
- Adecuación Dual, Planta Juan Bautista Arismendi (Completed).
- Sidor Planta A (Completed).
- El Furrial (over 97% completion).
- Barinas (over 97% completion).
- Morichal (over 97% completion).
Allegations of Corruption
The first published allegation of wrongdoing by Derwick Associates occurred in 2011 when Venezuelan newspaper Ultimas Noticias's César Batiz published an investigative series alleging overbilling and odd transactions between BARIVEN and Derwick Associates. The investigation uncovered that the company's executives had no prior experience building powerplants and yet were awarded 12 contracts in 14 months. The investigation also uncovered that the son of the government official awarding a power plant contract to Derwick had shipped a 1959 Porsche automobile using Derwick Associates office address on the shipment and importation paperwork.[4] Days later an elected deputy to the country's National Assembly called for an investigation of how the Derwick contracts were awarded [5] The company's overbilling was the subject of a Semana magazine expose.[2] Venezuela's most high profile investigative journalist, Nelson Bocaranda published that Derwick had used Compagnie Bancaire Helvetique, a swiss bank, to siphon profits.[3]. In 2012 the Derwick corruption investigation that had appeared in Ultimas Noticias's was the top award winner at the IPYS international investigative journalism awards [4]. According to Reporters Without Borders and to the Institute of Press and Society, reporters who have covered the allegations about Derwick Associates have received "threats, pressures, bribe offers" or been banned on Venezuela's internet [5] [6]. In 2013, power-plant experts José Aguilar and Víctor Poleo publicly accused Derwick Associates of overbilling and corruption. Poleo, a former official in the Venezuelan energy ministry, told the press that Derwick was paid U.S. $3 Billion in a "corrupt" bidding process. [7] [8] [9]
Defamation Campaign
Derwick director Edgard Romero Lazo has stated that the allegations of overbilling and bribery are "part of a defamation campaign" against the company.[6] Lazo was responding to claims by energy expert José Aguilar who claimed to have analyzed the powerplant contracts and budgetary expenditures.[10] Aguilar has stated that the fraud amounts to billions of dollars. The company claims that all its contracts are available to the public through the National Contractors Registry (RNC) and that all of its projects are completed, with the exception of three of them which are over 97% completed. [7]
Legal activity
On September 13, 2012, Derwick Associates Corp. and its co-founders, Leopoldo Betancourt López and Pedro Trebbau López, filed suit in Miami-Dade Circuit Court, against Caracas-based bank Venezolano de Credito SA Banco Universal, its former president and chairman, Óscar García Mendoza, and Rafael Alfonzo Hernández, a member of the bank's board. The Derwick suit, "alleged defamation of Derwick, Betancourt and Trebbau; tortious interference with contract and with business relationships; deceptive and unfair trade practices; and civil conspiracy,"[8] The company sought 300 million in damages.[8] accusing the defendants of being behind an anonymous Spanish-language website www.wikianticorrupcion.org, which had accused Derwick of criminal behavior.[9] García Mendoza denied the allegations and stated he had "nothing to fear",[10] and filed a motion to dismiss.[11] After Derwick began its suit against Banco Venezolano de Crédito, the Venezuelan bank regulator (Sudeban) issued an order forbidding the bank from paying shareholder dividends until the suit was settled.[12] On April 4, 2013 an attorney by the name Jacinto Castillejo came out as the founder and publisher of the anonymous Spanish-language website www.wikianticorrupcion.org and stated he had done so because the owners of Derwick's "attempt to use U.S. courts to intimidate and attack freedom of expression."[13] Derwick did not sue Ultimas Noticias, Cesar Batiz, or Jacinto Castillejo. Derwick and Garcia Mendoza reached an out-of-court settlement and the case was dismissed with with prejudice.
In July 2013, Washington businessman Otto Reich, who had previously served as the US Ambassador to Venezuela and as a senior State Department Official, filed suit in New York Federal Court alleging that Derwick Associates had bribed several Venezuelan government officials in order to secure contracts to build power stations and then subcontract the bulk of the work to Missouri-based ProEnergy Services. Reich's legal complaint was filed under the provisions of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, known as RICO, a United States federal law from the 1970s designed to dismantle organized crime. Specifically, Reich's lawsuit alleged that Rafael Ramírez, the oil minister and the president of Venezuela's state oil company PdVSA, received bribes that resulted in Derwick receiving no-bid contracts to build four power plants in Venezuela in 2010.[14] Reich also alleged that defendants Derwick Associates, Alejandro Betancourt López, Pedro Trebbau Lopez, and Francisco D'Agostino had defamed him and damaged his business during Derwick's previous court action against Banco Venezolano.[15]
In March 2014, human rights lawyer Thor Leonardo Halvorssen Mendoza filed suit against Derwick Associates, Alejandro Betancourt López, Pedro Trebbau Lopez, and Francisco D'Agostino had defamed him and damaged his business during Derwick's previous court action against Banco Venezolano. Halvorssen accusing Derwick and its directors of damaging his reputation after Derwick's attorneys sent letters to Forbes magazine and to the Huffington Post website questioning his integrity and professionalism. Halvorssen's suit alleges that Derwick and its principals paid a $50,000,000 bribe to Diosdado Cabello, speaker of the Venezuelan Assembly.[16] Joe DeMaria, Derwick's attorney, said Halvorssen’s allegations are absolutely false. Additionally, the Bank alleged to have received the payment, Banesco in Panama, also denied the allegation.[17] Halvorssen released a statement stating: "My attorneys and others working with them have conducted a thorough investigation into every allegation. We will require the defendants to provide documents and answers to questions under oath before and during the trial."[18]
Turbine Technology Center (TTC) Award
In December 2013, Derwick Associates received the award "The Best Latin-American Initiative",[19] given by Capital, Spanish financial magazine [20] The award recognizes the TTC (Technological Center of Turbines) as an important initiative that has helped to improve Venezuela's power system. According to the reasons given by Revista Capital, the TTC has improved not only the electricity generation capacity, but also the capability of quick responding if failures happen.[21] The TTC(Technological Center of Turbines) is placed in an industrial area at Guácara a city in Venezuela's Carabobo State.[22]
References
- ^ El Nacional Web. "Premian en España al Centro Tecnológico de Turbinas de Derwick" (in Template:Es icon). El-nacional.com. Retrieved 2014-04-14.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - ^ 70% de nueva generación en 2012 se dirigió a Caracas, Zulia y Anzoátegui El Nacional, 04 Feb 2013 Retrieved 13 Feb 2013.
- ^ Luis Carías Toscano. "Derwick ha edificado 11 plantas termoeléctricas que generan 1.386 MW". El-nacional.com. Retrieved 2014-03-29.
- ^ "Ipys reconoce investigación de periodista de ÚN | Últimas Noticias". Ultimasnoticias.com.ve. Retrieved 2014-03-29.
- ^ "Oposicion Exige Revisar Plan De Inversion Electrica - 2011" (in Template:Es icon). El Universal. Retrieved 2014-04-14.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - ^ Luis Carías Toscano. "Derwick ha edificado 11 plantas termoeléctricas que generan 1.386 MW". El-nacional.com. Retrieved 2014-03-29.
- ^ Luis Carías Toscano. "Derwick ha edificado 11 plantas termoeléctricas que generan 1.386 MW". El-nacional.com. Retrieved 2014-03-29.
- ^ a b Plunkett, Steve (October 10, 2012). "Defamation Suit Seeks $300 Million in Damages From Venezuelan Bankers". Daily Business Review. South Florida. Retrieved November 25, 2012.
- ^ Sarfo, Ama. (September 14, 2012). "CORRECTION: Energy Co. Hits Venezuelan Bank with $300M Defamation Suit", Law360. LexusNexus, New York. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
- ^ Díaz-Bandres, Gustavo (September 18, 2012). "Oscar García Mendoza: "Tomaremos las acciones que sean necesarias"". El Mundo. Venezuela. Retrieved November 25, 2012.
- ^ Bolado, Carolina. (April 19, 2013). "Venezuelan Bank Settles Energy Co.'s $300M Defamation Suit", Law360
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ "Abogado se atribuye la autoría de Wikianticorrupción" (in Spanish). Elmundo. 2012-12-27. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
online.wsj.com
was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Former US ambassador to Venezuela files bribe suit", (July 31, 2013).The Wall Street Journal'. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
miamiherald.com
was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Banesco desmiente el pago de $50 millones a Cabello a través de ese banco - Venezuela" (in Spanish). ElNuevoHerald. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
- ^ "Demandan a Diosdado Cabello en Miami por supuestos sobornos en Venezuela - Nacional y Política". Eluniversal.com. 2014-03-28. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
- ^ "Banco Madrid, Derwick Associates y Crédito y Caución entre los Premios Capital 2013" (in Template:Es icon). www.capital.es. 2013-12-17. Retrieved 2014-04-14.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - ^ El Nacional Web. "Premian en España al Centro Tecnológico de Turbinas de Derwick" (in Template:Es icon). El-nacional.com. Retrieved 2014-04-14.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - ^ "CTT de Derwick es distinguido como mejor iniciativa empresarial latinoamericana" (in Template:Es icon). elEconomista.es. 2013-12-17. Retrieved 2014-04-14.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - ^ Brasil (2014-02-19). ""Derwick analiza oportunidades de inversión en España y Latinoamérica"" (in Template:Es icon). eleconomistaamerica.com.br. Retrieved 2014-04-14.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)