Julio Herrera Velutini

Velutini was educated at The American School in England (UK), La Scuola Americana in Svizzera (Switzerland), and at the Central University of Venezuela (graduated in 1990). With more than 30 years of experience in the world of banking and finance, Julio Herrera Velutini represents the seventh generation of bankers in his family.^[2][3]

The Herrera Velutini family is one of the largest landowners in Venezuela.^[4] Its history dates back to 14th century Spain in the Kingdom of Castile, where it began with Pedro de Herrera y Rojas, Lord of Ampudia and the House of Herrera,^[5] to consolidate a dynasty of landowners, conquerors, merchants and later, bankers with influence in Spain, the Canary Islands, Latin America, Germany, and England. It has also marked its influence in trade and fashion in Spain, North and Latin America, and more recently in the United Kingdom and other countries.^[6][7] Most of the family wealth comes from the inheritance of the family's business and activities in the field of finance, banking and real estate since the 14th century.^[7][8]

In the early 1990s, Velutini began working at the Caracas Stock Exchange with Multinvest Casa de Bolsa, where he was a member of the board of directors until 1998. That same year he became CEO of Transban Investments Corp,^[9] becoming one of its main shareholders and senior manager of companies such as Kia Motors of Venezuela,^[10] BMW de Venezuela, BBO Financial Services, Transporte de Valores Bancarios de Venezuela (securities transport company), Bolivar Banco Universal, where at the age of 29 he was Chairman of the Board of Directors.^[11]

In the early 2000s, he acquired companies such as Caja Caracas Casa de Bolsa^[12] and IBG Trading (USA). Until February 2009, he was Chairman of the Board of Directors of Banco Real, and Banreal Holding (Spain), which he subsequently sold due to economic and political instability and the deterioration of Latin America; he also held management positions in Banco Activo Banco Comercial.^[13][3][14] He also created the Bancredito Foundation and Bancredito Financial Services. In 2016, the Bancrédito Group expanded with the acquisition of Consultiva Wealth Management an investment advisory firm registered and regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), located in Puerto Rico and New York.^[2]

Between 2019 and 2022, Veluntini donated over £500,000 to the UK Conservative Party through his company Britannia Financial Group Limited.^[15]

In August 2022, Herrera Velutini was accused of illegally financing former governor of Puerto Rico Wanda Vázquez Garced's election campaign^[16] based on a quantitative and qualitative survey commissioned in 2020 to the private company City Group London to study the pre-electoral panorama in Puerto Rico.^[17][18][19] Vázquez Garced's lawyer stated that the survey that led to the indictment of both the banker and Vázquez Garced was not prepared for her benefit.^[20] Upon learning of the indictment, Herrera Velutini voluntarily presented himself to the authorities^[21] and pleaded not guilty.^[22]

In August 2025, prosecutors dismissed the original charges of conspiracy, federal program bribery, and honest services wire fraud, after Herrera Velutini pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor violation of United States campaign finance law.^[23][24]

In January 2026, President Donald J. Trump granted a full and unconditional pardon to both Velutini and the former FBI agent, another of the co-defendants and the former governor. The federal court dismissed the case in its entirety and ordered that a sentence be issued in accordance with the closure of the case.^[25] A White House spokesperson said the investigation began ten days after the former governor publicly endorsed Donald J. Trump's 2020 candidacy. According to him, the pardon documents show that the prosecution was politically motivated.^[26]

• List of people granted executive clemency in the second Trump presidency