By Charlie Devereux

CARACAS – Offices of Brisbane, Mendes de Leon, Pettus y Asociados, linked to New York-based Oppenheimer & Co. Inc, were searched on Thursday, Public Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement on its website.

Authorities also searched the home of company director John Pettus, according to the statement. During the search, police seized four folders containing evidence of alleged dollar trading that violates currency controls, according to the authorities.

Police found dollars, euros and firearms at Pettus’ house, the Prosecutor's Office said in the statement. Oppenheimer’s branch office in Caracas is temporarily closed, according to an undated statement on the company’s website.

The company’s Miami branch manager Guillermo Vega declined to comment when was contacted by Bloomberg, while Robert Lowenthal, senior managing director at Oppenheimer, didn’t return phone calls seeking comment. Bloomberg