Venezuela Sells $570 Million From Gold Reserve Despite Sanctions
Venezuela sold about $570 million in gold from central bank reserves over the past two weeks, skirting U.S. Treasury sanctions designed to freeze assets of the Nicolas Maduro’s administration, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The central bank sold about 9.7 tons of gold on May 10 and an additional 4 tons three days after, the people said, driving its reserves down to a 29-year low of $7.9 billion. The proceeds will be partly used to fund imports through the country’s foreign trade office, according to one of the people.
A central bank press official didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on the sales.
Venezuela has sold 23 tons of gold since the beginning of April, defying an economic blockade meant to stop the lucrative trading Maduro has been using to keep the military loyal to his regime. Last month, the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control included the Venezuelan central bank its list of sanctioned entities.
Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-05-17/venezuela-sells-570-million-from-gold-reserves-despite-sanction
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