CARACAS (Reuters) - Portugal-based Novo Banco halted a transfer of $1.2 billion by the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to banks in Uruguay, a Venezuelan legislator said on Tuesday, a day after the opposition denounced what they called the theft of public funds.

Opposition leader Juan Guaido, who most European and Western Hemisphere nations have recognized as the country’s legitimate leader, said on Monday that authorities were trying to move up to $1.2 billion to banks in Uruguay.

Countries around the world are pressuring Maduro to resign amid a hyperinflationary economic crisis that has led millions to emigrate. His adversaries warn that officials are seeking to drain state coffers ahead of a potential change of government.

“They attempted to move Venezuelan government financial assets in Novo Banco in Portugal worth some $1.2 billion toward Uruguayan banks,” said legislator Carlos Paparoni during a congressional session on Tuesday.

“I’m pleased to inform the Venezuelan people that this transaction has until now been halted, protecting the resources of all Venezuelans.”

Venezuela’s Information Ministry, which handles all media inquiries, did not immediately respond to a request to comment.

Lisbon-based Novo Banco, which is 75 percent-owned by U.S. private equity firm Lone Star Funds, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Major European nations joined the United States on Monday in recognizing Guaido, while members of an Americas regional bloc kept up the pressure on socialist Maduro. </s> According to Portuguese legislator Carlos Paparoni, the country's Novo Banco halted a transfer of funds owned by the government of President Nicolas Maduro to banks in Uruguay.

Last week, Venezuelan opposition leader JuanGuaido announced that he would ask the European Union to protect the country's assets, adding that new leadership would be appointed at Citgo, a US-based subsidiary of Venezuelan state-owned oil company PDVSA facing Washington's sanctions. </s> CARACAS (Reuters) - A bank in Portugal has blocked Venezuela’s attempt to transfer $1.2 billion to Uruguay, a lawmaker said on Tuesday as the opposition to President Nicolas Maduro warned of the theft of public funds, while the United States sent food and medical aid to the Venezuelan-Colombian border.

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido talks to the media before a session of the National Assembly in Caracas, Venezuela February 5, 2019. REUTERS/Manaure Quintero

Pressure is building on Maduro, a socialist, to resign amid an economic crisis marked by widespread shortages and hyperinflation, with the United States and a growing number of other nations recognizing opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela’s legitimate president.

Pope Francis on Tuesday expressed willingness for the Vatican to mediate Venezuela’s mounting crisis if both sides seek it. Russia, which along with China has backed Maduro in the crisis, underscored its view that the crisis can be resolved only with negotiations between the government and opposition.

Guaido, who declared himself interim president last month, is scheduled to meet later on Tuesday with business leaders at Venezuela’s main business group, Fedecamaras, to discuss an economic recovery plan under a future transition government in the OPEC-member South American country.

Maduro’s adversaries have warned that Venezuelan officials are seeking to drain state coffers ahead of a potential change of government.

Portugal-based Novo Banco halted the $1.2 billion transfer of Venezuelan government financial assets to Uruguayan banks, legislator Carlos Paparoni said during a congressional session, a day after Guaido said authorities were trying to move funds.

“I’m pleased to inform the Venezuelan people that this transaction has until now been halted, protecting the resources of all Venezuelans,” Paparoni said.

Venezuela’s Information Ministry, which handles all media inquiries, did not immediately respond to a request to comment.

Lisbon-based Novo Banco, which is 75 percent-owned by U.S. private equity firm Lone Star Funds, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Major European nations including Britain, Germany, France and Spain joined the United States on Monday in recognizing Guaido, while members of a separate regional bloc, the so-called Lima Group, kept the political heat on Maduro.

In power since former President Hugo Chavez’s death in 2013, Maduro has been accused by critics of running the OPEC nation of 30 million people like a dictatorship. Critics have called last year’s disputed presidential vote in which Maduro won re-election a sham, and the mainstream opposition boycotted it.

Trucks carrying food and medical supplies sent by the United States to be stockpiled until it can be brought into Venezuela will arrive later this week at Guaido’s request and will be prepositioned at the main Colombian-Venezuelan border crossing at Cucuta, U.S. officials with knowledge of the plan said.

It is unclear how the supplies will get into Venezuela without Maduro’s blessing and cooperation of the Venezuelan military, which has remained loyal to his government and is stationed on the Venezuelan side of the border.

VATICAN INTERVENTION

The pope, speaking to reporters aboard his plane while returning from a trip to Abu Dhabi, confirmed that Maduro had written a letter to him but said he had not yet read it. Maduro told Italian broadcaster Sky TG24 on Monday that he had sent the letter to the pope “for help in the process of facilitating and reinforcing dialogue.”

Asked about a possible direct mediation effort by the Vatican, the pope said, “I will read the letter and see what can be done, but the initial condition is that both sides ask for it. We are willing.”

Given the failure of previous rounds of dialogue, including one led by the Vatican, opponents are suspicious, believing Maduro uses them to quell protests and buy time.

U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to address the Venezuela situation in his annual State of the Union address in Washington later on Tuesday.

Slideshow (4 Images)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the Venezuela crisis could be solved only by getting the authorities and opposition to talk to each other, Russia’s RIA news agency reported.

“We continue to believe that the only way to exit this crisis is by sitting the government and opposition down at the negotiating table,” Lavrov was quoted as saying by RIA. “Otherwise it will simply be the same regime change that the West had done many times.” </s> Neutral Uruguay's name mentioned in attempts to drain Venezuelan coffers

A bank in Portugal has blocked Venezuela’s attempt to transfer US$ 1.2 billion to Uruguay, a lawmaker said on Tuesday as the opposition to President Nicolas Maduro warned of the theft of public funds, while the United States sent food and medical aid to the Venezuelan-Colombian border.

Pressure is building on Maduro, to resign amid an economic crisis marked by widespread shortages and hyperinflation, with the United States and a growing number of other nations recognizing opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela’s legitimate president.

Pope Francis on Tuesday expressed willingness for the Vatican to mediate Venezuela’s mounting crisis if both sides seek it.

Russia, which along with China has backed Maduro in the crisis, underscored its view that the crisis can be resolved only with negotiations between the government and opposition.

Guaido, who declared himself interim president last month, met on Tuesday with business leaders at Venezuela’s main business group, Fedecamaras, to discuss an economic recovery plan under a future transition government in oil rich Venezuela.

Maduro’s adversaries have warned that Venezuelan officials are seeking to drain state coffers ahead of a potential change of government.

Portugal-based Novo Banco halted the US$ 1.2 billion transfer of Venezuelan government financial assets to Uruguayan banks, legislator Carlos Paparoni underscored during a congressional session, a day after Guaido said authorities were trying to move funds.

“I’m pleased to inform the Venezuelan people that this transaction has until now been halted, protecting the resources of all Venezuelans,” Paparoni said.

Lisbon-based Novo Banco, is 75% owned by U.S. private equity firm Lone Star Funds.

The Uruguayan financial authorities denied such a transaction underlining the country strictly abides by international legislation and has applied to become a member of OECD, for which its banking system must comply with its rules to avoid being black listed as a non-cooperating country.

However it must also be said that the ideological affinity of the Uruguayan ruling coalition with the Venezuelan regimes of both deceased Hugo Chavez and the current Nicolas Maduro has been very strong, and helps to explain the country's 'neutrality' in the current conflict.

Furthermore members of president Tabare Vazquez family and cronies of ex president Jose Mujica have been involved in numerous dubious business dealings with Venezuelan officials, who are not known precisely for their transparency or honesty, but rather as looters or financial predators. </s> CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido said on Monday the government of President Nicolas Maduro was trying to move up to $1.2 billion from state development bank Bandes to a financial entity in Uruguay, though he did not present evidence.

Venezuela’s Information Ministry did not immediately respond to a request to comment.

Guaido, in a televised speech, called on the Uruguayan government to not allow the operation, which he denounced as the “theft of public funds.” </s> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States imposed sanctions on Venezuela’s development bank, Bandes, a day after the Trump administration warned there would be consequences for the arrest by Venezuelan authorities of opposition leader Juan Guaido’s top aide.

The U.S. Treasury said on Friday it was slapping the sanctions on the Banco de Desarrollo Economico y Social de Venezuela, including its subsidiaries in Uruguay and Bolivia.

Congress head Guaido, who invoked the constitution to assume the interim presidency in January, has accused Bandes of being used by officials of the government of President Nicolas Maduro to steal funds.

The White House said in a statement it was committed to preventing Maduro’s government from stealing Venezuela’s resources and from arresting those pushing for political change.

Guaido’s chief of staff, Roberto Marrero, was detained in a pre-dawn raid on Thursday, sparking vows of reprisals from the United States, which along with most Western countries backs Guaido.

“The United States will not tolerate the arrest of peaceful democratic actors, including members of the democratically-elected Venezuelan National Assembly and those Venezuelans working with interim President Juan Guaido,” the White House said in a statement.

The U.S. Treasury said Maduro tried to move $1 billion out of Venezuela through Banco Bandes Uruguay in early 2019 as he came under increasing pressure from the United States and other countries in the region to step down.

Uruguay has stayed neutral on Venezuela’s political crisis and has called for dialogue.

Bandes has received billions of dollars over the past decade from the China Development Bank, in exchange for oil, which the Venezuelan government used to fund infrastructure projects.

The sanctions freeze assets belonging to the bank and its subsidiaries, and prevent U.S. citizens from any dealings with Bandes. They follow a raft of other sanctions imposed by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump in recent months against Maduro, top government officials, and state oil firm PDVSA.

Trump’s national security adviser John Bolton tweeted: “BANDES bank is to Venezuela’s financial sector what PDVSA is to its oil sector. This action will severely affect any attempted currency movements by Maduro and his cronies moving forward. Do not test the resolve of this Administration.”

Maduro’s government accuses Washington of waging a “economic war” to force them from power and has said that the sanctions only harm regular Venezuelans. </s> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States imposed sanctions on Venezuela’s development bank Bandes, a day after the Trump administration warned there would be consequences for the arrest of opposition leader Juan Guaido’s top aide.

The U.S. Treasury said it was slapping the sanctions on the Banco de Desarrollo Economico y Social de Venezuela, including its subsidiaries in Uruguay and Bolivia.

“(President Nicolas) Maduro and his enablers have distorted the original purpose of the bank ... as part of a desperate attempt to hold onto power,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement announcing the action.

Guaido, who invoked the constitution to assume the interim presidency in January, has accused Bandes of being used by officials of Maduro’s government to steal funds.

The U.S. Treasury said Maduro tried to move $1 billion out of Venezuela through Banco Bandes Uruguay in early 2019.

Bandes has received billions of dollars over the past decade from the China Development Bank, in exchange for oil, which the Venezuelan government used to fund infrastructure projects.

The sanctions freeze assets belonging to the bank and its subsidiaries, and prevent U.S. citizens from any dealings with Bandes.

The announcement comes after Venezuelan authorities detained Guaido’s chief of staff, Roberto Marrero, on Thursday in a pre-dawn raid, sparking vows of reprisals from the United States, which backs Guaido. </s> Britain rejected Venezuela’s request to withdraw $1.2bn in gold stored in the UK, according to reports. It was enough for the self-declared and US-backed ‘president’, Juan Guaido, to support the alleged move.

The Bank of England blocked Venezuela’s attempts to retrieve $1.2 billion worth of gold stored as the nation’s foreign reserves in Britain, sources told Bloomberg on Friday.

According to the media outlet, officials in Caracas have for weeks been trying to withdraw the gold, with Calixto Ortega, the head of Venezuela’s central bank, traveling to London in mid-December to seek access to the nation’s assets.

The talks were “unsuccessful,” as US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the national security advisor to President Donald Trump, John Bolton, pressured their British counterparts to freeze the Venezuelan assets, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

By some estimates, Venezuela holds more than $8 billion in foreign reserves. According to earlier reports, the amount of Venezuelan gold kept in the Bank of England doubled in recent months, growing from 14 to 31 tons.

The South American nation has reportedly experienced problems in extracting its own gold from the Bank of England in the past. Bankers in Britain were allegedly concerned that Venezuelan officials would sell the state-owned gold “for personal gain.”

The Bank of England, along with press officials for Pompeo and Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, declined to comment.

Despite the fact that the story was not confirmed, the alleged move of the British bank was swiftly praised by the self-proclaimed ‘interim president’ of Venezuela. “The process of protecting the assets of Venezuela has begun,” Juan Guaido tweeted.

“We will not allow more abuse and theft of money intended for food, medicine and the future of our children.”

Guaido, the speaker of the national parliament, declared himself ‘interim president’ of the state earlier with week in opposition to Maduro. He was subsequently recognized as the “legitimate” leader of Venezuela by the US, Canada, and the majority of South American nations.

Maduro was backed by states like Mexico, Russia, China, and Turkey. He slammed the US for endorsing Guaido, ordering its diplomats to leave the county.

Moscow said it will continue to recognize Maduro as the sole democratically-elected leader of the country and called on others to not allow “destructive foreign interference” in Venezuelan affairs.

Venezuela has seen a series of large-scale anti-government protests in recent years. Some of them spiraled into riots and clashes with police. Nicolas Maduro blasted “foreign interference” as a source behind the unrest, while in particular accusing US officials of endorsing the rallies and Washington of planning to overthrow him. The anti-government protests were met with counter-demonstrations by Maduro supporters.

Like this story? Share it with a friend! </s> Venezuela's opposition leader Juan Guaido accused President Nicolas Maduro on Monday of trying to illicitly transfer up to $1.2 billion from public coffers to a bank in Uruguay.

He said Maduro was seeking to move the money from the Venezuelan Economic and Social Development Bank to Uruguay and called on the Montevideo government "not to lend itself to stealing".

"We are talking about between $1 billion and $1.2 billion dollars," said Guaido, who was recognized as Venezuela's interim president Monday by more than 15 European states.
Portuguese bank Novo Banco blocks the transfer of $1.2 billion of Venezuelan government financial assets to Uruguay. The move was requested by the Nicolás Maduro government.