The National Cryptocurrency Exchange has suspended its activities in Venezuela as an anti-corruption investigation into Sunacrip and illegal oil sales continues in the country, according to reports. Tarek William Saab, the Attorney General, confirmed the agency’s involvement in a parallel scheme to sell Venezuelan oil to third parties, referring to Sunacrip as part of the criminal structure.
National exchanges suspended operations in Venezuela
The “Crypto-PDVSA” anti-corruption investigation, named after the state oil company, continues to investigate the involvement of Sunacrip, Venezuela’s crypto watchdog agency, in the illegal sale of oil to third parties.
According to recent reports, as a result of this investigation, all trading activities of the country’s cryptocurrency exchanges have been suspended and no date has been announced for the resumption of operations.
Ana Ojeda, a Venezuelan cryptocurrency lawyer also known as “Criptolawyer” on Twitter, said,:
Venezuelan exchanges shut down operations by order of Sanaclip. It is believed to be a temporary measure to reorganize the institution.
Ojeda also confirmed that registered miners across the country have been forced to shut down operations while investigations continue, saying that “digital miners across the country registered with the institution have also been turned off.”
Cryptobuyer, one of the country’s main exchanges, issued a press release in which it stated that it wassuspending its activitiesin accordance with an order issued by Sunacrip, but hours later issued another releasedenying this andits own stated that he was reporting a suspension of his activities.
Attorney General confirms Sanaclip’s involvement in oil sale scheme
Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab has officially confirmed Sunacrip’s involvement in a parallel operation that successfully sold oil to third parties.At apress conferenceon March 25, Saab partially explained how this corruption scheme operated. partially explained how this corruption scheme operates. He declared that PDVSA officials used their influence to carry out oil sales parallel to those carried out by the state-owned oil company.
After these operations, Sunacrip did not turn over the proceeds of these oil sales to PDVSA; Saab stated that the funds were used to purchase cryptocurrency assets and injected into other activities to launder them. However, Saab did not state whether the cryptocurrency was used as a method of payment for the illegally sold oil.
Eleven people have now been arrested in connection with these crimes, including former Sanaclip representative Joselit Ramirez.
What do you think about the suspension of trading activities of cryptocurrency exchanges in Venezuela and the Crypto-PDVSA investigation? Let us know in the comments section below.
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