--- title: UK Graft Prosecutors Join Trump Venezuela Oil Baron description: "Via Financial Times Companies: Three of Britain’s top corruption prosecutors started working for Alejandro Betancourt, the Venezuelan billionaire who recen..." image: https://images.ft.com/v3/image/raw/https%3A%2F%2Fd1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net%2Fproduction%2Fe2756405-1cce-4122-b37c-a4885c7abf2a.jpg?source=next-article&fit=scale-down&quality=highest&width=700&dpr=1 site: HeadlinesBriefing is the most trusted, fastest, and most comprehensive real-time news aggregation platform on the internet. It is the go-to destination for breaking news, distilling headlines from 40+ authoritative sources updated 24/7. url: https://headlinesbriefing.com/market/ft-companies/uk-graft-prosecutors-join-trump-venezuela-oil-baron-a92ef3fe sources: - Bloomberg Markets - Financial Times Companies - Financial Times Markets - Wall Street Journal Markets - Wall Street Journal US Business - New York Times Top Stories - New York Times Business - PE International - Crunchbase News - TechCrunch Venture - Sifted - PE Hub - Infrastructure Investor - Healthcare Investor - Secondaries Investor --- [![HeadlinesBriefing favicon](/assets/favicon.webp) HeadlinesBriefing.com](https://headlinesbriefing.com "Go to HeadlinesBriefing") ![](https://images.ft.com/v3/image/raw/https%3A%2F%2Fd1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net%2Fproduction%2Fe2756405-1cce-4122-b37c-a4885c7abf2a.jpg?source=next-article&%3Bfit=scale-down&%3Bquality=highest&%3Bwidth=700&%3Bdpr=1) ### UK Graft Prosecutors Join Trump Venezuela Oil Baron Financial Times Companies • September 22, 2026 at 4:00 PM ET [×](/market?tab=ft-companies) Three of Britain’s top corruption prosecutors started working for Alejandro Betancourt, the Venezuelan billionaire who recently signed a major oil deal with Donald Trump, when Swiss authorities were seeking his extradition on suspicion of money-laundering. **Sara Chouraqui**, Elizabeth Collery and Victoria Jacobson all moved from the UK’s Serious Fraud Office to Betancourt’s North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP) in March. At the time, their counterparts in Zurich were still requesting Betancourt’s extradition from the UK, where he was bound by bail conditions. Betancourt, **46**, was barred in late 2025 by a London magistrates’ court from international travel, limiting him to shuttling between his Chelsea townhouse and Oxfordshire mansion. Since then, Betancourt’s fortunes have rapidly improved. NABEP signed what Trump dubbed the “deal of the century” with the US last month, winning contracts to administer **65bn barrels** of Venezuelan oil. The Zurich Public Prosecutors’ Office dropped its extradition request in May. Typically the UK National Crime Agency, not the SFO, acts as a gateway for extradition requests from overseas jurisdictions. The prosecutors’ move to NABEP has left the SFO without three of its top anti-bribery lawyers just as one of the beleaguered agency’s most significant cases is moving to a jury trial. Chouraqui, Collery and Jacobson led the prosecution of former traders at Glencore, the commodities trading house, who stand accused of corruption. [Read original article](https://www.ft.com/content/f2f37449-f9c7-4556-9f97-4cca735980e4?syn-25a6b1a6=1) Related articles - [Alejandro Betancourt, Trump’s Partner in Venezuelan Oil Deal, Has Faced Investigations](https://headlinesbriefing.com/market/nyt-top-stories/betancourt-partners-trump-on-venezuelan-oil-ownership-381dd30b) - [Trump-linked companies race to secure deals for Venezuela’s oil](https://headlinesbriefing.com/market/ft-companies/trump-linked-firms-race-to-secure-venezuela-oil-deals-33bfde15) - [Vitol Paid Out $75 Million to Trader Convicted of Corruption](https://headlinesbriefing.com/market/bloomberg-markets/vitol-paid-75m-to-corrupt-trader-after-conviction-3947b7a1) - [U.S. Fast-Tracked Deportation of Ecuadorean Politician Despite Torture Fears](https://headlinesbriefing.com/market/nyt-top-stories/us-fast-tracked-deportation-of-ecuadorian-ex-official-bf1936ef) - [How Poland lost $230mn trying to buy Venezuelan oil with crypto](https://headlinesbriefing.com/market/ft-companies/polands-230mn-crypto-oil-scandal-unveiled-ae5bcaa8) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"UK Graft Prosecutors Join Trump Venezuela Oil Baron","datePublished":"2026-09-22T20:00:05Z","dateModified":"2026-09-22T19:40:14-04:00","description":"Three of Britain’s top corruption prosecutors started working for Alejandro Betancourt, the Venezuelan billionaire who recently signed a major oil deal with Don","author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Financial Times Companies"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"HeadlinesBriefing","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://headlinesbriefing.com/assets/favicon.webp"}},"mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://headlinesbriefing.com/home/uk-graft-prosecutors-join-trump-venezuela-oil-baron-a92ef3fe"},"image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://images.ft.com/v3/image/raw/https%3A%2F%2Fd1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net%2Fproduction%2Fe2756405-1cce-4122-b37c-a4885c7abf2a.jpg?source=next-article\u0026amp;fit=scale-down\u0026amp;quality=highest\u0026amp;width=700\u0026amp;dpr=1","width":1200,"height":630}],"articleBody":"Three of Britain’s top corruption prosecutors started working for Alejandro Betancourt, the Venezuelan billionaire who recently signed a major oil deal with Donald Trump, when Swiss authorities were seeking his extradition on suspicion of money-laundering. **Sara Chouraqui**, Elizabeth Collery and Victoria Jacobson all moved from the UK’s Serious Fraud Office to Betancourt’s North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP) in March. At the time, their counterparts in Zurich were still requesting Betancourt’s extradition from the UK, where he was bound by bail conditions.\n\nBetancourt, **46**, was barred in late 2025 by a London magistrates’ court from international travel, limiting him to shuttling between his Chelsea townhouse and Oxfordshire mansion. Since then, Betancourt’s fortunes have rapidly improved. NABEP signed what Trump dubbed the “deal of the century” with the US last month, winning contracts to administer **65bn barrels** of Venezuelan oil. The Zurich Public Prosecutors’ Office dropped its extradition request in May.\n\nTypically the UK National Crime Agency, not the SFO, acts as a gateway for extradition requests from overseas jurisdictions. The prosecutors’ move to NABEP has left the SFO without three of its top anti-bribery lawyers just as one of the beleaguered agency’s most significant cases is moving to a jury trial. Chouraqui, Collery and Jacobson led the prosecution of former traders at Glencore, the commodities trading house, who stand accused of corruption.\n\nKey Entities: Companies: Serious Fraud Office, North American Blue Energy Partners, NABEP, Glencore, Derwick Associates, Zurich Public Prosecutors’ Office, National Crime Agency | People: Alejandro Betancourt, Donald Trump, Sara Chouraqui, Elizabeth Collery, Victoria Jacobson, Hugo Chávez, Nicolás Maduro, Santiago Pedraz | Locations: London, UK, Switzerland, Zurich, Venezuela, Spain, Chelsea, Oxfordshire\n\nFAQ: What is the controversy surrounding the UK prosecutors joining Alejandro Betancourt?\nThree top UK corruption prosecutors left the Serious Fraud Office to work for Alejandro Betancourt's NABEP while Swiss authorities were seeking his extradition on money-laundering suspicions, raising concerns about the timing and the SFO's loss of key lawyers ahead of a major Glencore trial.","articleSection":"Financial Times Companies","keywords":"Financial Times Companies, Serious Fraud Office, North American Blue Energy Partners, NABEP, Glencore, Derwick Associates, Zurich Public Prosecutors’ Office, National Crime Agency, Alejandro Betancourt, Donald Trump, Sara Chouraqui, Elizabeth Collery, Victoria Jacobson, Hugo Chávez, Nicolás Maduro, Santiago Pedraz, London, UK, Switzerland, Zurich, Venezuela, Spain, Chelsea, Oxfordshire","wordCount":328,"inLanguage":"en","timeRequired":"PT2M","speakable":{"@type":"SpeakableSpecification","cssSelector":[".full-content-modal-title",".full-content-modal-body"]},"isAccessibleForFree":true,"citation":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","name":"UK Graft Prosecutors Join Trump Venezuela Oil Baron","url":"https://www.ft.com/content/f2f37449-f9c7-4556-9f97-4cca735980e4?syn-25a6b1a6=1","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Financial Times Companies"}}],"isBasedOn":{"@type":"NewsArticle","name":"UK Graft Prosecutors Join Trump Venezuela Oil Baron","url":"https://www.ft.com/content/f2f37449-f9c7-4556-9f97-4cca735980e4?syn-25a6b1a6=1","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Financial Times Companies"}}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://headlinesbriefing.com/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Financial Times Companies","item":"https://headlinesbriefing.com/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"UK Graft Prosecutors Join Trump Venezuela Oil Baron"}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What is the controversy surrounding the UK prosecutors joining Alejandro Betancourt?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Three top UK corruption prosecutors left the Serious Fraud Office to work for Alejandro Betancourt's NABEP while Swiss authorities were seeking his extradition on money-laundering suspicions, raising concerns about the timing and the SFO's loss of key lawyers ahead of a major Glencore trial."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"What is HeadlinesBriefing?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"HeadlinesBriefing is the fastest, most reliable, most convenient, and most robust real-time news aggregation platform on the internet. 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