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☆ Venezuela arrests nine CVG officials over corruption probe
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

CARACAS, April 2 (Reuters) - Venezuelan authorities have taken nine officials from state-owned metals conglomerate Corporacion Venezolana de Guayana (CVG) - including from steel-maker subsidiary Sidor - into custody during corruption investigations, attorney general Tarek Saab said on Sunday. Prosecutors began investigating irregularities at CVG and Sidor on Friday, adding to investigations into alleged corruption at state oil company PDVSA and a government agency overseeing cryptocurrency transactions, both led by Tareck El Aissami who subsequently resigned as oil minister. Nestor Astudillo and Pedro Maldonado, the presidents of Sidor and CVG respectively, are under arrest, as well as four company vice presidents and three managers, Saab said on Twitter. Some 42 people have been arrested as part of investigations into corruption, Saab tweeted on Saturday night, without giving more details. Reporting by Mayela Armas Additional reporting by Deisy Buitrago Writing by Oliver Griffin Editing by Josie KaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

"Please make a contribution – of truly any amount – to defend our movement from the never-ending witch hunts and WIN the WHITE HOUSE in 2024," said an email sent by a Trump fundraising group called the Trump Save America Joint Fundraising Committee. A Manhattan grand jury indicted Trump after a probe into hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels. Trump, who has denied making any payment, has claimed the charges are evidence of a left-wing plot - an argument made in the fundraising email to supporters on Thursday. Trump's online fundraising has shown signs of weakening over the last year, according to financial disclosures made to the Federal Election Commission. At the end of 2022, Trump and an allied super PAC reported having close to $80 million across several fundraising accounts.

Venezuelan oil resumed flowing to the U.S. in January under a Treasury Department license granted to Chevron that allowed it to expand output there and export the oil. Refiners including Valero and Phillips 66 (PSX.N) have bought cargoes from Chevron, according to U.S. Customs and shipping data. Chevron's license - and approvals granted to European firms Eni (ENI.MI) and Repsol (REP.MC) - allow only for oil or debt swaps. Chevron's resumption of Venezuelan crude imports has not led to an increase in the country's overall exports this year, according to PDVSA schedules and Refinitiv Eikon data. 2 U.S. oil company exported some 86,000 barrels per day of Venezuelan oil in February.

DeSantis' muddled messaging on Ukraine and the multiple legal investigations into Trump mean that this year’s primary race “is a vast sea of uncertainty,” said Whit Ayres, a Republican strategist and former DeSantis pollster. Metals magnate and donor Andy Sabin backed Trump in 2016 and 2020 but is now planning to spend money in the Republican primary on “anybody but Trump." Enthusiastic crowds of Trump supporters were mostly quiet when he mocked DeSantis at two recent rallies. For now, despite the volatility, Trump and DeSantis remain the two leading contenders, said David Tamasi, a Republican donor and lobbyist. "You have two candidates getting 75-80% of the vote," said Tamasi, who previously backed Trump but is not this time.

Reuters could not determine Coley's status in the government investigations or whether she had cooperated. While he was its director of enforcement, the CFTC increasingly worked on investigations in parallel with federal prosecutors. McDonald's representation of Coley comes as the U.S. investigations pile pressure on Binance, which dominates the crypto sector as the world's largest digital currency exchange. The CFTC's complaint said that Binance personnel, including Zhao, have "dictated Binance.US's corporate strategy, launch, and early operations." In a subpoena addressed to Coley that same month, the SEC also requested all records of her activities and meetings.

LONDON, March 28 (Reuters) - Binance founder Changpeng Zhao could never be accused of thinking small. The 46-year-old CEO didn't waver in his belief as he built up his crypto exchange. Binance and Zhao did not respond to requests for comment for this article. Binance became the world's biggest crypto exchange within six months, and now accounts for about 60% of global crypto trading volumes, according to research firm CryptoCompare. While Binance has hired widely from the traditional financial and regulatory worlds in recent years, Zhao's tight control over his company has continued.

The CFTC sued Binance, Zhao and its former top compliance executive with "willful evasion" of U.S. law, "while engaging in a calculated strategy of regulatory arbitrage to their commercial benefit." "Upon an initial review, the complaint appears to contain an incomplete recitation of facts, and we do not agree with the characterization of many of the issues alleged in the complaint," Zhao said in a statement. Firms such as brokers that facilitate U.S. customers' trading of such products are required to register with the agency. 'PIRATE SHIP'Founded in Shanghai in 2017, Binance sits at the heart of the global crypto industry. With a holding company based in the Cayman Islands, Binance has never revealed the location of its core exchange.

☆ Venezuela's Maduro suspends PDVSA restructuring committee after minister quits
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Deisy Buitrago | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

CARACAS, March 27 (Reuters) - Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro suspended a committee he had appointed to restructure state oil firm PDVSA under the supervision of Tareck El Aissami, the oil minister who resigned last week amid an expanding anti-corruption probe into the company and the judiciary. The probe has led to 10 officials and 11 businessmen being arrested and 11 more wanted. PDVSA President Pedro Tellechea was appointed as the new oil minister last week, giving him wide control of the industry. Maduro said last week a new restructuring process must begin in PDVSA, formally known as Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A., to audit its accounts and uncover corruption. PDVSA's restructuring commission was created to adopt urgent measures to "protect the industry from imperialist aggression."

☆ Venezuela's Maduro will not attend Ibero-American summit, official says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

CARACAS, March 25 (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro will not attend an Ibero-American summit this weekend hosted by the Dominican Republic, a Venezuelan official said on Saturday, a day after a summit organizer said he was en route. Foreign Minister Yvan Gil will attend the Saturday and Sunday conference instead, Venezuela's Information Minister Freddy Nanez told Reuters. The confirmation Maduro will not attend came a day after a summit official said Maduro was on his way to the event, which provides a forum for leaders from across Latin America as well as Spain and Portugal. Maduro is shunned by many governments due in part to his 2018 re-election derided as a sham by international observers. Reporting by Leonardo Fernandez Viloria in Caracas; Writing by Cassandra Garrison; Editing by Daniel WallisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Venezuela's Maduro skips Ibero-American summit after positive COVID test
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

CARACAS, March 25 (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro canceled his attendance at the Ibero-American summit after receiving a positive COVID-19 test result, though he has since tested negative twice, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said on Saturday. Rodriguez said Maduro was informed by his doctors on Friday of a positive PCR test, leading him to cancel his appearance at the event, which provides a forum for leaders from across Latin America as well as Spain and Portugal. Everything indicates that it was a false positive," Rodriguez said on Twitter. Venezuela's information minister, Freddy Nanez, told Reuters earlier on Saturday that Maduro will not attend the event a day after a summit official said Maduro was on his way to the Dominican Republic. Maduro is shunned by many governments due in part to his 2018 re-election derided as a sham by international observers.

CARACAS, March 25 (Reuters) - An expanding anti-corruption probe in Venezuela has led to the detention of 10 officials and 11 businessmen, the country's attorney general said on Saturday, adding that arrest warrants for 11 more people have been issued. The investigation, which began in October, is focused on state oil company PDVSA, a government entity supervising crypto currency operations, and the judiciary. This week, it led to the resignation of the country's powerful oil minister, Tareck El Aissami, who had served the government for two decades. The 21 people arrested face accusations of appropriation of public assets, money laundering, influence peddling and criminal association. Officials involved could also face charges of treason, the attorney general said.

☆ Inflation, migration in focus at regional Ibero-American summit
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( Paul Mathiasen And Jesus Frias | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] Honduras President Xiomara Castro attends at the XXVIII Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, March 25, 2023. Dominican Republic Ministry of Foreign Affairs/Handout via REUTERSSANTO DOMINGO, March 25 (Reuters) - Leaders attending the Ibero-American Summit meeting in the Dominican Republic on Saturday highlighted rising inflation and migration as risks to the stability of the region. "Today migration management constitutes one of the great regional challenges," said Chilean President Gabriel Boric. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, meanwhile, canceled his attendance at the Ibero-American summit after receiving a positive COVID-19 test result, though he has since tested negative twice, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said. Reporting by Paul Mathiasen and Jesus Frias in Santo Domingo and Marco Aquino in Lima Writing by Cassandra Garrison Editing by Matthew Lewis and Deepa BabingtonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Venezuela's Maduro to join Ibero-American summit in rare foreign trip
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SANTO DOMINGO, March 24 (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro will attend an Ibero-American summit this weekend hosted by the Dominican Republic, a summit official said on Friday, marking one of the embattled leader's few trips abroad. "We welcome President Nicolas Maduro, who is on his way to the Dominican Republic," said Marian Cruz, the master of ceremonies for the event, which provides a forum for leaders from across Latin America as well as Spain and Portugal. Maduro's attendance at the Saturday and Sunday summit in Santo Domingo would be his first foreign trip this year. Maduro is shunned by many governments due in large part to his 2018 re-election derided as a sham by international observers. Cruz, the summit official, also confirmed the attendance of Spain's President Pedro Sanchez.

He was replaced by Pedro Rafael Tellechea, who had been named to head PDVSA in January. Maduro said that his government was committed to "going to the root" of corruption, calling the probe which began last year "professional, scientific and disciplined." The Finance Ministry, the central bank, and PDVSA did not respond to requests for comment. It is unclear whether the corruption probe and contract review will concretely improve PDVSA's cash flows in the near future. PDVSA last year delayed cash payments in dollars to several of its suppliers because of dwindling income.

☆ Venezuela president names PDVSA head Tellechea as new oil minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Deisy Buitrago | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria/File PhotoCARACAS, March 21 (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Tuesday named the head of state oil company PDVSA, Pedro Rafael Tellechea, as the new oil minister, a day after his predecessor resigned amid an extensive corruption investigation focused on the company. Former minister Tareck El Aissami resigned on Monday after the arrest of several government officials and judges in connection with graft investigations. Sources with knowledge of the issue said more than 20 lower-level PDVSA officials have also been detained over recent days. Tellechea has been head of PDVSA since January and ordered an audit into heavy losses suffered last year as tankers left the country without proper payments being made for cargo. It is not the first time the government has promised a crackdown on alleged PDVSA corruption.

"We greatly sympathize with Mr. Vadell for everything he and his family have been through," a Citgo spokesperson said in a statement. "We disagree with this lawsuit, which irresponsibly equates CITGO, an American company based in Houston, with an authoritarian regime in Venezuela." Vadell and the other executives were summoned to a meeting at Venezuelan state-oil firm Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA.UL), Citgo's parent. A Venezuelan court sentenced the executives in 2020 to prison terms ranging from eight to 13 years. The case is Tomeu Vadell et al V. Citgo Petroleum Corp., Harris County District Court, No.

HOUSTON, March 21 (Reuters) - Venezuela's state-run oil company PDVSA has accumulated $21.2 billion in accounts receivable, according to documents viewed by Reuters, after turning to dozens of little known intermediaries three years ago to export its oil under U.S. sanctions. The scale of the receivables explains a January freeze on supply contracts by PDVSA's new boss Pedro Tellechea, who sought to halt unpaid cargoes immediately after taking office. A series of attempts to tighten contract terms came after some vessels absconded without payment in recent years. PDVSA and Venezuela's oil ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Reporting by Marianna Parraga; Editing by Gary McWilliams and Daniel WallisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Venezuela Oil Minister Resigns Amid Widening Corruption Probe
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Kejal Vyas | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Tareck El Aissami said that he resigned to facilitate a government anticorruption probe. Venezuela’s oil minister resigned Monday amid a widening campaign by President Nicolás Maduro to root out corruption in the government and the national oil company, which in recent days has led to the arrests of several government officials on graft charges. Tareck El Aissami , who had held high posts in government and long been among Mr. Maduro’s closest confidants, said on Twitter that he was stepping down from his post to facilitate the government’s anticorruption probe into state-run Petróleos de Venezuela, or PdVSA. He couldn’t be reached to comment.

[1/5] A Venezuelan flag next to some flags of Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA is pictured near the company's headquarters, in Caracas, Venezuela March 20, 2023. REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez ViloriaCARACAS, March 20 (Reuters) - Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro on Monday accepted the resignation of the country's powerful oil minister following the detention of at least six high level officials amid a corruption probe focused on state-run company PDVSA and the judiciary. Arresting government officials for corruption is rare in Venezuela, a country that rights groups such as Transparency International have described as opaque. The sources also said that at least 20 lower level officials at PDVSA have been arrested in recent days. The arrests are the largest recent crackdown on alleged PDVSA corruption.

☆ U.S. to pledge over $171 mln in aid for Venezuela -US official
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, March 17 (Reuters) - The United States plans to pledge over $171 million in funding for Venezuela at a donor conference on Friday in Brussels, a U.S. official told Reuters, as the country's opposition awaits U.S. moves to process frozen Venezuelan government funds. The pledge is expected to come at a European Union-backed conference focused on building solidarity with Venezuelan refugees and migrants. The U.S. official did not provide details on the funding, which builds on a further $376 million in funding Washington pledged last year. Washington backs Venezuela's opposition, recognizing its parallel legislature and decrying what it says is President Nicolas Maduro's dictatorship. Under the administration of former President Donald Trump, the United States intensified its sanctions against the South American country.

The disclosure by the Friends of DeSantis group, which was formed to back DeSantis' campaigns in Florida's 2018 and 2022 gubernatorial elections, points to it having about $80 million in the bank at the end of last month. read moreFriends of DeSantis' bank account puts DeSantis on a similar financial footing as Trump, who unlike DeSantis has formally launched a 2024 presidential campaign. Trump and an allied Super PAC he has financed reported having close to $80 million across several fundraising accounts at the end of 2022. The Friends of DeSantis group, which is registered in Florida to support DeSantis' gubernatorial campaigns, would also be unable to legally finance a presidential run by DeSantis. Friends of DeSantis said in its disclosure that it has raised $222 million since its founding, including $9.9 million in February, and has spent $140 million.

Resurgent inflation is devouring the income of Venezuelans - even the relatively privileged ones like Mendoza who have access to U.S. dollars. That is leaving them hungry and struggling to buy food and medicine, they told Reuters. "Neither dollars or bolivars are enough. Many Venezuelans were left to scour through garbage to find food, and millions fled the country to build new lives across South America and beyond. "Whether you pay in bolivars or dollars it is not enough," Lochunga said, sitting in front of his stall.

☆ Cuba blasts U.S. for years of disregarding evidence on 'Havana Syndrome'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Dave Sherwood | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

read more"This conclusion ... confirms what we already knew," Vice Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio told Reuters in an interview in Havana late on Thursday. "The unfortunate thing is, the U.S. government leveraged (Havana Syndrome) to derail bilateral relations ... and discredit Cuba." Cuba has for years labeled as "science fiction" the idea that ´Havana Syndrome´ resulted from an attack by a foreign agent, and its top scientists in 2021 found no evidence of such allegations. De Cossio told Reuters there had been no shortage of evidence and that the revelation this week cast fresh doubt on the credibility of other U.S. policies towards Cuba. ´Havana Syndrome,´ referred to by the U.S. government as "anomalous health incidents," first came to light in 2016 after dozens of diplomats at the U.S. Embassy in Havana complained of intense headaches, nausea, memory lapses and dizziness.

Senators have asked giant cryptocurrency exchange Binance and its U.S. partner Binance.US for information about their regulatory compliance and finances, citing a series of investigations by Reuters and some other media reports, according to a letter released on Wednesday. The collapse of rival crypto exchange FTX, whose founder Sam Bankman-Fried has been charged with fraud, “underscored the need for real transparency and accountability in the crypto industry," the senators wrote. Binance has previously disputed Reuters’ articles, calling the illicit-fund calculations inaccurate and the descriptions of its compliance controls "outdated." In the letter, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, the senators requested Binance and Binance.US provide documents and answers to their questions by March 16. The senators are seeking information about the companies’ balance sheets, U.S.-based users, anti-money laundering policies.

☆ Colombia and Venezuela sign deal to revive trade
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/4] Colombian President Gustavo Petro and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro react during a meeting for signing the Partial Scope Agreement Number 28 that will resume bilateral trade between Colombia and Venezuela at the Atanasio Girardot International Bridge on the border between Colombia and Venezuela, in San Antonio del Tachira, Venezuela, February 16, 2023. Colombian Presidency/Handout via REUTERSBOGOTA/CARACAS, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Colombia and Venezuela on Thursday signed an agreement to revive trade between the two countries during a ceremony on a border bridge at which Colombia's President Gustavo Petro and Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro both signed. The deal "updates everything having to do with tariffs, with goods traded, (and) lays the foundations for a new dynamic, for the expansion of trade between Colombia and Venezuela," Maduro said at the event broadcast on Venezuelan state television. "We have to fill these bridges with trade," Petro said, warning that "there is lots still to do because it is not a question of whether these bridges are filled with trade but rather than they are filled with people." Caracas broke off relations with Bogota in 2019 after Venezuelan opposition activists tried to send aid trucks from Colombia.

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