Venezuela shuts down crypto mining facilities, exchanges amid corruption probe


Venezuela's energy provider has shut down crypto mining facilities across the country as part of a shakeup of the national crypto department and ongoing corruption investigations involving the country's oil company.

According to local media reports, crypto mining companies and tweets of the National Cryptocurrency Association of Venezuela, mining facilities were closed in recent days in the states of Lara, Carabobo and Bolรญvar. It is unclear how many crypto companies were affected. Some crypto exchanges were also tidy to cease operations.

The shutdown of the crypto mining facilities is believed to be part of an ongoing corruption investigation involving Venezuelan oil company PDVSA and the country's crypto department.

Venezuela's attorney general, Tarek William Saab, revealed on March 25 that government officials were allegedly conducting parallel oil operations with the assistance of the national cryptocurrency department. Saab noted On twitter:

โ€œThis network used a conglomerate of commercial companies to legitimize the capital obtained from sales through the acquisition of crypto assets, furniture and real estate.โ€

According to Saab, at least 10 people have been arrested in connection with the investigations, including Joselit Ramรญrez Camacho, who has led the crypto department since its inception in 2018 overseeing the country's Petro cryptocurrency and crypto tax regulations. According According to previous reports, Camacho was arrested on March 17 during the course of the investigation.

Since June 2020, Camacho has been listed on America's Most Wanted list. At the time, Homeland Security Investigations issued a reward of up to $5 million for any information leading to the capture of Petro's supervisor. Authorities alleged that Ramรญrez had โ€œdeep political, social, and economic tiesโ€ to suspected drug lords, including Tareck El Aissami, a former vice president of Venezuela.

Venezuela's president Nicolรกs Maduro Announced the reorganization of the National Superintendence of Cryptoactives in a decree issued on March 17. The Maduro administration claimed that the decision was intended to protect the country's citizens from the negative effects of economic sanctions, among other reasons.

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