Venezuela’s energy provider has shut down crypto mining facilities across the country as part of a restructuring of the state’s crypto sector and an ongoing corruption investigation involving the country’s oil company.
Mining facilities in the states of Lara, Carabobo, and Bolívar have been shut down over the past few days, according to local media reports, tweets from crypto mining companies, and the National Cryptocurrency Association of Venezuela. It is unclear how many crypto companies were affected. Some cryptocurrency exchanges were also ordered to cease operations. The closure of crypto mining facilities is believed to be part of an ongoing corruption investigation involving Venezuelan oil company PDVSA and the country’s crypto sector. Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab revealed on March 25 that government officials allegedly ran parallel oil operations with the assistance of the state’s encryption department.
Szabo tweeted: According to Saab, at least 10 people were arrested in connection with the investigation, including Joselit Ramirez Camacho, who has led the crypto unit since its inception in 2018, overseeing crypto tax rules and the country’s cryptocurrency, the Petro. According to previous reports, Camacho was arrested on March 17 during the investigation. Camacho has been on the most wanted list in the United States since June 2020. At the time, Homeland Security Investigations was offering a reward of up to $5 million for information that might lead to the capture of Petro's executives. Authorities said Ramirez had "deep political, social and economic ties" to suspected drug lords, including former Venezuelan vice president Tareck El Aissami.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro announced the restructuring of the National Crypto Assets Supervision Agency in a decree published on March 17. Maduro's government claimed the decision was aimed at protecting the country's citizens from the negative effects of economic sanctions, among other reasons.
