Venezuela arrests former oil minister for corruption
Venezuelan authorities have arrested the country's former oil minister, Tareck El Aissami, on corruption charges.
According to information released by the Venezuelan government and cited by the AP, El Aissami was arrested for implementing a scheme that stole hundreds of millions of dollars in oil revenue from the state. The charges brought against the former official include money laundering, treason and criminal conspiracy.
El Aissami was oil minister until March last year, when he announced his resignation over a corruption scandal at state energy firm PDVSA. The scandal involved the apparent disappearance of about $3 billion from oil sales.
El Aissami was arrested following the results of the investigations following the scandal. The AP quoted Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab as saying the arrest took some time because of "various phases" of the investigation that uncovered a mechanism for selling oil through the country's cryptocurrency control agency, in addition to the official PDVSA channel.
At this time, the Government of Venezuela and the state oil company should prepare for the return of US sanctions. These could return as early as April 18, when the six-month suspension of sanctions expires.
The easing of sanctions authorized the production, lifting, sale and export of oil or gas from Venezuela and the provision of related goods and services, as well as the payment of invoices for goods or services related to oil sector operations or of gas in Venezuela.
The suspension was based on the Venezuelan government's commitment to hold free and fair elections, but Maduro blocked opposition candidate Maria Corina Machado from participating in the election, which Washington reported was not agreed upon by the two sides. At this point there would be the basis for a return of sanctions, but the possible inflationary pressure resulting from the decline in Venezuelan exports will also weigh on the decision.
The lifting of sanctions allowed Chevron to return to Venezuela and helped the country increase oil production. A new market also loomed, as Europe sought to diversify its oil supplier base.
This could all be over before it begins if sanctions return on April 18.
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The articleVenezuela arrests former oil minister for corruption comes from Scenari Economici .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/il-venezuela-arresta-ex-ministro-del-petrolio-per-corruzione/ on Wed, 10 Apr 2024 10:00:48 +0000.