At the core of the corruption and sanctions-evasion apparatus that allowed Venezuela’s regime to siphon billions of dollars from state oil revenues stands a name largely unknown outside elite banking and sporting circles: Siri Evjemo-Nysveen. A Norwegian national, former board member of Switzerland’s MBaer Merchant Bank, and a prominent figure in international polo, Evjemo-Nysveen played a central role in the financial architecture designed by her husband, sanctioned oil trader Alessandro Bazzoni, to launder proceeds from PDVSA.
The financial backbone of an illicit network
In 2020, Evjemo-Nysveen joined the board of MBaer Merchant Bank, a private Swiss institution founded by Michael Baer, a descendant of the Julius Baer banking dynasty. As vice chair, she gained direct access to the bank’s private banking operations. According to multiple investigations, her position was instrumental in facilitating the opening of Swiss accounts for key Chavista operators, including Colonel Antonio Pérez Suárez, relatives of former oil minister Tareck El Aissami, and Álvaro Pulido Vargas.
Beyond MBaer, Evjemo-Nysveen played a direct role in structuring offshore vehicles such as Clareville Grove Capital LLP and CGC One Planet, firms used to channel funds from Asia and the Middle East into Europe. These entities formed part of a broader triangulation scheme routing money through Dubai and London, exploiting regulatory gaps and Evjemo-Nysveen’s access to high-level banking networks in Switzerland and the UK.
Polo, horses and asset laundering
Evjemo-Nysveen’s activities extended well beyond finance. Alongside Bazzoni, she used elite sports as a mechanism for asset legitimization. The couple owns the polo teams MT Vikings and Monterosso Polo Team, which have competed in top-tier tournaments such as the Cartier Queen’s Cup and the Prince of Wales’s Championship Cup, even facing the team of Prince William.
Authorities in the UK allege that polo served as a laundering vehicle. According to investigations by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and the National Crime Agency (NCA), the couple used the purchase and resale of high-value competition horses—some worth hundreds of thousands of dollars—to introduce illicit funds into Europe. Horses were acquired through Clareville Grove Capital, registered under the names of professional players, and later resold, with profits redirected to accounts controlled by Evjemo-Nysveen.
More than 40 polo players have appeared in investigative files, including Facundo Sola, Guillermo “Sapo” Caset, Ignacio Novillo Astrada, Juan Martín Nero, Lia Salvo, and several British, Argentine, and Uruguayan athletes. Some horses were seized from Cowdray Park Polo Club, a venue partially owned by Evjemo-Nysveen alongside British influencer Inez Bethell.
The collapse of the structure
In 2023, following the explosion of the PDVSA-Crypto corruption scandal, MBaer Merchant Bank quietly removed Evjemo-Nysveen from its board. Leaked documents revealed that she had been included in confidential internal communications regarding capital increases at the bank—communications that also referenced Bazzoni, despite his OFAC sanctions since 2021.
The presence of both spouses in sensitive bank correspondence raised serious concerns about MBaer’s compliance controls. While the bank claims it does not operate with residents of the United States, the United Kingdom, or Germany, both Evjemo-Nysveen and Bazzoni were living in London while conducting business operations from the city.
At present, Evjemo-Nysveen and Bazzoni are being held in the United Kingdom following a Venezuelan Interpol Red Notice, while facing ongoing investigations in Switzerland, the UK, and the United States. Two of their key proxies, Erik Roveta and Germán Bonelli, have already been arrested in Greece and Argentina, respectively.
Evjemo-Nysveen’s trajectory illustrates how elite financial institutions, offshore structures, and luxury sports can be weaponized to shield illicit wealth. Operating quietly, far from political speeches or public contracts, she became a critical enabler of one of the most sophisticated oil-laundering schemes linked to Venezuela’s state collapse—proof that the machinery of corruption often runs not through ministers or generals, but through banks, boardrooms, and polo fields.