Venezuela: 21 officials, businessmen arrested in oil scheme

Venezuela’s attorney general said that 21 people, including senior officials in President Nicolás Maduro's government and business leaders, were arrested in connection with a corruption scheme involving international oil sales. The alleged scheme involved selling Venezuelan oil through the country’s cryptocurrency oversight agency in parallel to the state-run Petróleos de Venezuela SA.

The attorney general said the oversight agency allegedly signed contracts for the loading of crude on ships “without any type of administrative control or guarantees,” violating legal regulations, without mentioning the amounts involved. The statement comes five days after Venezuela’s once-powerful oil minister resigned amid allegations of corruption against some of his closest associates.