Julio Herrera Pleads Not Guilty to Bribery Charges

According to a recent report published by BBC, Julio Martin Herrera, an international banker, has pleaded not guilty to charges including bribery in Puerto Rico. Herrera has been charged with conspiracy and federal programs bribery.

He reportedly donated £500,000 to the Conservative Party via Britannia Financial Group, a London-based financial services provider that offers professional clients clearing and execution services in CFDs on listed equities, indices, ETFs and commodities through Britannia Global Markets.

In a report earlier this month, Financial Times noted that the Venezuelan banker donated approximately £100,000 just days before the 2019 general election. According to FT, Britannia Financial has not been accused of wrongdoing.

The official company record of Britannia Financial Group shows that Julio Herrera is not part of the company anymore. Herrera resigned from his position earlier this year.

Alleged Bribery Scheme

During the first week of August 2022, the US Department of Justice issued an official statement and noted that the authority has arrested the former Governor of Puerto Rico in the Bribery Scheme.

“According to the indictment, from December 2019 through June 2020, then-Governor of Puerto Rico Wanda Vazquez Garced, 62, of San Juan, allegedly engaged in a bribery scheme with various individuals, including Julio Martin Herrera Velutini, Frances Diaz, Mark Rossini, and John Blakeman to finance Vazquez Garced’s 2020 gubernatorial election campaign,” the Justice Department said.

“Herrera Velutini, 50, a dual Venezuelan-Italian citizen residing in London, United Kingdom, owned an international bank operating in San Juan,” the authority added in the press release.