Post by anenro on Sept 10, 2019 14:38:03 GMT 4
Maduro Regime Is Moving Money Through Spain’s Central Bank
As a growing number of banks around the world refuse to move money on President Nicolas Maduro’s behalf, Venezuela has found an ally in the Bank of Spain, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.
Venezuela’s central bank is increasingly relying on its Spanish counterpart to transfer and receive funds abroad at a time when U.S. sanctions have prompted many large banks and financial institutions to shy away from any actual or perceived dealings with the socialist regime.
Venezuelan central bank officials are telling contractors that going through the Bank of Spain is an option to make and receive payments outside of the country, while warning that it may still take at least a month to clear transactions due to increased scrutiny, one of the people said.
In an emailed statement, a Bank of Spain spokesman said the account kept by Venezuela is used to pay operating expenses related to the diplomatic relations between the two countries and by international organizations to send funds to Venezuela since they can’t use commercial banking channels. The balance of the account is “relatively small and has not registered significant variation in the past year,” according to the statement.
The Spanish government has deftly maintained relationships with both Maduro and the opposition’s Juan Guaido who is recognized by more than 50 countries as the rightful leader of the crisis-ravaged nation. While a top Guaido ally, Leopoldo Lopez, has been living at the official residence of the Spanish ambassador in Caracas for months, the Spanish government still maintains normal relations with Maduro and his allies.
The help from the Bank of Spain comes at a critical time for the embattled Maduro administration after state-run Ziraat Bank, Turkey’s largest bank by assets, stopped offering its services to move money. The U.S. financial system is off grounds and suppliers sometimes have to wait weeks to find a working account to make payments to the government. They often end up relying on far-flung financial institutions from Eastern Europe to Asia.
As a growing number of banks around the world refuse to move money on President Nicolas Maduro’s behalf, Venezuela has found an ally in the Bank of Spain, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.
Venezuela’s central bank is increasingly relying on its Spanish counterpart to transfer and receive funds abroad at a time when U.S. sanctions have prompted many large banks and financial institutions to shy away from any actual or perceived dealings with the socialist regime.
Venezuelan central bank officials are telling contractors that going through the Bank of Spain is an option to make and receive payments outside of the country, while warning that it may still take at least a month to clear transactions due to increased scrutiny, one of the people said.
In an emailed statement, a Bank of Spain spokesman said the account kept by Venezuela is used to pay operating expenses related to the diplomatic relations between the two countries and by international organizations to send funds to Venezuela since they can’t use commercial banking channels. The balance of the account is “relatively small and has not registered significant variation in the past year,” according to the statement.
The Spanish government has deftly maintained relationships with both Maduro and the opposition’s Juan Guaido who is recognized by more than 50 countries as the rightful leader of the crisis-ravaged nation. While a top Guaido ally, Leopoldo Lopez, has been living at the official residence of the Spanish ambassador in Caracas for months, the Spanish government still maintains normal relations with Maduro and his allies.
The help from the Bank of Spain comes at a critical time for the embattled Maduro administration after state-run Ziraat Bank, Turkey’s largest bank by assets, stopped offering its services to move money. The U.S. financial system is off grounds and suppliers sometimes have to wait weeks to find a working account to make payments to the government. They often end up relying on far-flung financial institutions from Eastern Europe to Asia.
