Lopez is the Vice President of ALBANISA, the company that imports and sells Venezuelan petroleum products, and President of the Nicaraguan state-owned oil company Petronic. Lopez has had access to large amounts of funds collected by the government in the form of taxes and fines that he is alleged to have exploited, including for the personal use of Nicaraguan leaders. When involved in infrastructure projects, Lopez is alleged to have syphoned funds by negotiating personal fees, placing numerous individuals throughout the government to help him steal millions of dollars on an annual basis, and using his position to his and his family’s benefit by using companies they own to win government contracts. ALBANISA is 49% owned by Petronic, and 51% owned by Venezuela’s national oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA). Senior officials within the Nicaraguan government and the FSLN are also alleged to have used ALBANISA funds to purchase television and radio stations, hotels, cattle ranches, electricity generation plants, and pharmaceutical laboratories. [1]
Information
| IDENTIFYING INFORMATION | Vice President of ALBANISA, President of Petronic |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 17.09.1950 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Nicaragua |
| NATIONALITY | Nicaragua |
| COUNTRY OF RESIDENCE | Nicaragua |
| FULL NAME | Jose Francisco Lopez Centeno |
| FIRST AND MIDDLE NAME(S) | Jose Francisco |
| ALIASES | (1) "Chico" (2) Chico Lopez |
| FAMILY MEMBERS | Ernesto Aburto - cousin Maritza Soto López - niece |
| FAMILY MEMBERS SUBJECT TO SANCTIONS | None |
| SUSPECTED OR CONFIRMED LINKS TO LEGAL ENTITIES | Petronic; Alba de Nicaragua (Albanisa), Tecnología y Sistemas SA (Tecnosa), Tecnosa, Tecnología Electromecánica Sociedad Anónima (TESA), Viviendas Económica de Nicaragua Sociedad Anónima, (Vienicsa), Tecnología y Sistemas de Tatarstán Sociedad Anónima, (Tectasa), as well as Materials and Construction Sociedad Anónima, (Matecsa) [1] |
| ESTIMATES OF ASSETS FROZEN OR CONFISCATED | Unknown |
| ESTIMATES OF ASSETS RETURNED | None |
| SANCTIONS REGIMES | US Global Magnitsky Sanctions. [1] |
| START OF SANCTIONS | 05.07.2018 [1] |