Venezuelan oil tycoon Ruperti held by police, law firm says

March 20 (Reuters) - Venezuelan oil businessman Wilmer Ruperti has been held by authorities since Thursday after the country's intelligence police requested a meeting with him, Ruperti's legal representatives told Reuters on Friday.

Law firm Winston & Strawn said that Ruperti was asked to attend a meeting with Venezuela's intelligence police at about 1 p.m. on Thursday.

His security detail was detained and later released, but Ruperti remained in custody as of Friday and authorities had provided no justification for his detention, the firm said.

"We are concerned for his well being," the firm said in a response to Reuters.

It was not immediately clear why Venezuelan authorities were holding Ruperti. The nation's information ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ruperti, a shipping and oil magnate close to Venezuela's socialist governments, rose to prominence after helping move fuel to the country during the 2002-2003 strike at state oil company PDVSA, a role that cemented his ties to then-President Hugo Chavez's administration.

In more recent years, his Geneva-based Maroil Trading became a key exporter of Venezuelan petroleum coke under a contract with state-owned PDVSA, though that business later became embroiled in a dispute over payments and contract terms.

Reuters reported in 2023 that PDVSA had suspended deliveries to Maroil amid an audit of receivables.