Spain's Duro Felguera faces trial in Madrid for alleged Venezuelan bribery scheme

The Audiencia Nacional opened a trial on Monday against Duro Felguera, the Asturian metallurgical group, for allegedly bribing Venezuelan officials to obtain a contract for a thermoelectric plant in Caracas in 2009. According to the prosecution, the company's president and CEO funneled illicit commissions to former Energy Vice-Minister Nervis Villalobos via intermediary firms, exploiting his influence within the Hugo Chávez government.

The indictment also names former Vice-Minister Javier Alvarado Ochoa as a co-defendant and cites the involvement of PDVSA chief Rafael Ramírez in facilitating the $1.5 billion-scale contract. Duro Felguera and its top executives Juan Carlos Torres and Ángel Antonio del Valle face charges of continuous corruption in international commercial transactions. The prosecution seeks severe penalties, while parallel investigations examine whether the bribery network attempted to sway Spanish judicial processes through contacts such as Miriam Serrano. Villalobos' spouse, Milagros Coromoto Torres, is also charged with related offenses.