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| Native name | Derwick Associates de Venezuela SA |
|---|---|
| Industry | Energy |
| Founder | Leopoldo Betancourt López Pedro Trebbau López |
| Headquarters | Venezuela |
| Products | Electrical power Natural gas |
| Services | Engineering Power-plant construction |
| Website | derwickassociates |
Derwick Associates is a primarily Venezuelan company that “provides engineering, procurement and power-plant construction services". During an energy crisis in Venezuela in 2009-2010, Derwick won several contracts to construct and provide supplies for a number of power plants in that country and has been the subject of scrutiny.
Corporate history
Derwick is currently registered in Barbados, Venezuela, and Spain, and has also been registered in the U.S. In Barbados, the company registered on May 27, 2009, as Derwick Associates Corporation. In Venezuela, where it was registered on October 28, 2009, it is called Derwick Associates de Venezuela SA. In Spain, where it was incorporated on 13 January 2011, it is called Derwick Associates International SRL. In the U.S., it was registered on December 2, 2010, under the name Derwick Associates USA LLC.
In a lawsuit filed in 2012, Derwick directors maintained that the firm was founded in 2007.
Directors
The following individuals are listed as directors of the firm: Pedro Trebbau López, Leopoldo Alejandro Betancourt López, Gonzalo X. Guzman López (listed as Domingo X. Guzman De Frutos López as a director of the Barbados firm), Edgar Romero Lazo, and Iker Candida. Betancourt, Trebbau, and Hernández are the officers of the United States-based firm.
Venezuelan power station scandal
The firm was awarded 12 contracts for such installations in Venezuela during a 2009-2010 energy crisis in that country - their first contract of that kind. Four contracts were awarded by Electricidad de Caracas (which in December 2011 became part of Corpoelec), five by Petróleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA, with the contract negotiated by Bariven, a division of PDVSA), and one by the Venezuelan Guayana Corporation (CVG).
Bariven awarded contracts in 2010 amounting to more than $760 million for power plants to Derwick and two other intermediaries. Of that sum, the contracts awarded to Derwick amounted to $209 million. The $760 million sum included surcharges of over $403 million, of which just under $87 million were surcharges paid to Derwick. There were allegations of double billing by Derwick for the same parts. In five of the contracts, Derwick was said to have failed to meet completion dates.
A journalist working for Venezuela's Últimas Noticias presented herself at Derwick's official address in Madrid, Spain in 201 and spoke over the intercom with a man who she reported had a Venezuelan accent and who, in answer to her question, told her that the building was not the headquarters of Derwick but was his residence. According to prosecutors, former Venezuelan government minister Rodolfo Sanz, currently president of CVG, made a phone call from Derwick's office in the Pyramid Building in which he arranged a deposit of $500 million in the Gazprom Bank of Lebanon. In a later media account, however, Manuel Díaz recanted this allegation, refuting the charge.
In November 2011, Derwick was accused of breaching payments to workers.
Derwick also contracted to supply a power plant for Sidor, Venezuela's largest steel corporation, for over $700 million, which included a surcharge of $280 million. Although the plant was supposed to begin operation in May 2010, it was reported that construction had not yet gotten underway as of August 2012, quoting technicians close to the project saying that it “consists of reconstructed turbines and used equipment.” A Derwick official responded with a letter denying the charges in the report.
In February 2013 it was reported that Derwick had been largely responsible for the recent increase in generating capacity in the Caracas metropolitan area.
Legal activity
César Batiz sued the Venezuelan Minister of Minerals and Petroleum in March 2012 for information about Derwick.
On September 13, 2012, Derwick Associates Corp. and its co-founders, Leopoldo Betancourt López and Pedro Trebbau López, filed a lawsuit in Miami-Dade Circuit Court, charging that it had suffered severe damage to its reputation as a result of actions by the Caracas-based bank Venezolano de Credito SA Banco Universal, by the bank's president and chairman, Oscar García Mendoza, and by Rafael Alfonzo Hernandez, a member of the bank's board. The suit, according to one account, “alleged defamation of Derwick, Betancourt and Trebbau; tortious interference with contract and with business relationships; deceptive and unfair trade practices; and civil conspiracy. The company is seeking preliminary and permanent injunctions as well as monetary damages.”
The amount of damages specified in the lawsuit was $300 million. The premise of the lawsuit was that García Mendoza and Alfonzo Hernandez were connected with the anonymous Spanish-language website www.wikianticorrupcion.org, which had accused Derwick of criminal corruption. Betancourt López said: “This legal action is not against freedom of expression, but against the practice of anonymous defamation. We have been the object of a campaign based on absolutely false charges.” García Mendoza denied that he, the bank, or Alfonzo Hernandez had done any of the things they were charged with.
Other activities
It was reported in August 2012 that Derwick Associates had paid $24 million for El Alamin, a 1,600-acre hunting estate in Toledo, Spain, for the personal use of Betancourt Lopez.
In January 2012, Derwick donated funds for the construction of a football field in Sucre.
References
- ^ César Batiz (September 26, 2011). "Compras con sobreprecio en la emergencia eléctrica". Ultimas Noticias. Retrieved November 25, 2012.
- ^ "Ipys premia serie "Trampas Eléctricas" de ÚN". Retrieved November 25, 2012.
- César Batiz (September 18, 2011). "Bariven compró con sobreprecio". Soberania. Retrieved November 25, 2012.
- César Batiz (September 27, 2011). "Bariven adquirió equipos eléctricos con $403,7 millones de sobreprecio". Soberania. Retrieved November 25, 2012.
- Corporate Affairs and Intellectual Property Office, Derwick Associates Corporation, retrieved 4 Mar 2013.
- ^ César Batiz (August 7, 2011). "Cable pelao en la electricidad". Soberania. Retrieved November 25, 2012.
- Registro Mercantil Central, Derwick Associates International SRL, retrieved 4 Mar 2013.
- ^ "Defamation Suit Seeks $300 Million in Damages From Venezuelan Bankers". Retrieved November 25, 2012.
- Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations, Derwick Associates USA, LLC, retrieved 4 Mar 2013.
- "Con la verdad por delante". Retrieved November 25, 2012.
- "Mesa de unidad exige investigar plan de inversiones electricas". Retrieved November 25, 2012.
- "Sindicalista Manuel Díaz: nunca dije que el ex ministro Sanz se apropió de esos fondos". Retrieved December 4, 2012.
- "Obreros paralizan planta termoeléctrica en el Tuy". Retrieved November 25, 2012.
- ^ "Desmentido a la información de Reporte: Caso Leopoldo Alejandro Betancourt López //Los chavechicos
". Retrieved November 25, 2012.
{{cite web}}: C1 control character in|title=at position 99 (help); External link in|title= - El Nacional, 04 Feb 2013, 70% de nueva generación en 2012 se dirigió a Caracas, Zulia y Anzoátegui Retrieved 13 Feb 2013.
- "El tribunal supremo de justicia". Retrieved November 25, 2012.
- ^ "Derwick Associates demanda a Banco Venezolano de Crédito y a Oscar García Mendoza". Retrieved November 25, 2012.
- "Demandan al Banco Venezolano de Crédito y a su presidente". Retrieved November 25, 2012.
- "Oscar García Mendoza: "Tomaremos las acciones que sean necesarias"". Retrieved November 25, 2012.
- "PERFIL: El banquero que no negocia con la revolución". Retrieved November 25, 2012.
- "Ocariz entrega quinta cancha de futbol de grama artificial en sucre". Retrieved November 25, 2012.