Swiss banker gets 10 years for Venezuela graft case

BOGOTA (AP):

A former Swiss banker has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in laundering US$1.2 billion stolen from Venezuela's state oil company in a case implicating President Nicol·s Maduro's stepsons.

Matthias Krull is cooperating with prosecutors, and the judge in Monday's hearing said his sentence could be reduced. The former Julius Baer banker will remain free on bail until April.

Two Americans familiar with the probe have said that Krull told prosecutors that the money laundering plot included Maduro's three stepsons and the owner of Venezuela's largest private TV network. None has been charged, and they're not named in the criminal complaint that led to Krull's arrest.