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Russia Secretly Helped Venezuela Launch The Petro
Exclusive: Russia Secretly Helped Venezuela Launch a Cryptocurrency to Evade U.S. SanctionsTime
Simon Shuster
President Donald Trump may not have realized on Monday that his executive order would step on Russia’s toes. Its official target was Venezuela, specifically the country’s plan to create the world’s first state-backed cryptocurrency, the petro, which went on sale Tuesday.
But behind the scenes, the petro was in fact a collaboration—a half-hidden joint venture between Venezuelan and Russian officials and businessmen, whose aim was to erode the power of U.S. sanctions, sources familiar with the effort told TIME.
Trump’s executive order did not mention the petro’s Russian backers, whose role has not previously been reported. Citing economic sanctions that the U.S. imposed against Venezuela in August, the order simply made clear that anyone who buys or uses the new cryptocurrency would be in breach of those sanctions, as would anyone under U.S. jurisdiction who helps Venezuela develop the petro. “Any conspiracy formed to violate any of the prohibitions set forth in this order is prohibited,” the document states.
That may be why the Russians involved in this operation have been keen to remain in the shadows, in part through a clumsy online campaign to obscure their role in the project. But a TIME investigation has found Moscow’s fingerprints all over the creation of the petro, a scheme that reveals the range of Russia’s efforts to fight back against U.S. sanctions.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/exclusive-russia-secretly-helped-venezuela-163554112.html
I don't know how this is "news". The people who allegedly set up the scam (per Maduro) were Russians, though their company is clearly fraudulent. The designers of the scam don't even have a website... unless they are wholesale fishmongers who fly their catch around. Nobody can find out anything about them. Which is convenient, because nobody can get any answers from the Chavistas about how the Petro actually works either.
