According to recent reports, Venezuelan prosecutors have arrested 21 individuals for their alleged participation in a wide-range crypto-related corruption scheme. The crypto-related corruption scheme was in action at the state oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA).
PDVSA is a Venezuelan state-owned oil and natural gas company with activities in exploration, production, refining, and exporting oil as well as exploration and production of natural gas.
As per media reports, amongst the 21 arrested individuals, eleven are businessmen, while the remaining ten are government officials. Additionally, the Venezuelan government has released 11 more arrest warrants alleging the targeted individuals of participating in the same scheme.
Sources reveal that the investigation had first started in October last year and was focused on PDVSA, the judiciary, and the country’s crypto regulator, the National Superintendency of Crypto Assets and Related Activities (SUNACRIP). Speaking about the arrests at a press conference, Tarek Saab, Attorney General stated:
We are talking about one of the most lurid plots in recent years, which involves officials, businessmen who benefited from corruption, and young people – including the so-called mafia women – who participated in corruption and money laundering.
While Saab didn’t disclose specific information related to the corruption scheme like company names or details about the exact scope of the scheme, he did give out a peep into the role of the crypto regulating body. Saab stated SUNACRIP was assigned oil cargoes for sale without administrative control, which allowed receivers to purchase these cargoes without making a registered payment.
In 2019, the US government imposed sanctions on Venezuela after detecting that Venezuelan oil shipments were paid via cryptocurrencies. In February 2023, local news outlets reported that two oil brokers were facing charges for settling illegal oil deals with the PDVSA using Tether (USDT) to dodge sanctions and settlement payments.
Additionally, the report stated the corruption scheme wiped $3 billion from Venezuelan oil sales as they were diverted to avoid showing in the official accounts of the Venezuelan government.
As per recent reports, the prosecutor’s office has investigated over 30 cases linked to the country’s oil corruption and has charged almost 200 people. A handful of government officials and businessmen were also arrested or removed from their positions in the last week.
Amongst these, the most significant change of powers is as follows. On March 20, Venezuelan anti-corruption prosecutors sent a letter to the attorney general. They requested the PDVSA officials be investigated, which led to the resignation of the company’s president on the same day.
Two days later, the Venezuelan president assigned PDVSA’s new chairman, Pedro Tellechea, as the country’s new oil minister. On March 18, Joselit Ramirez, SUNACRIP’s head, along with several other government officials, got arrested for being involved in corruption schemes.
SUNACRIP has a very significant role to play in Venezuela’s approach to cryptocurrencies. With such significant changes in the system, it is only a matter of time, before we find all that the nation plans for crypto and its regulation.
In December, Todayq News reported that banks in Venezuela have been paying closer attention to accounts that frequently participated in crypto transactions. At that time, more than 75 cases of accounts have been stopped or are under investigation that has been registered since the end of 2021.