Loading ...Venezuela sold about $570 million in gold from central bank reserves over the past two weeks, skirting U.S. Treasury sanctions designed to freeze assets of the Nicolas Maduro’s administration, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
Caracas sold about 9.7 tons of gold on May 10 and an additional 4 tons three days after, the people said. The operations helped the bank’s total reserves to fall to a 29-year low of $7.9 billion, according to data provided by the monetary authority. The proceeds will be partly used to fund imports through the country’s foreign trade office, according to one of the people.
A central bank press official didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on the sales.
cont. http://www.mining.com/web/venezuela-sells-570-million-gold-reserve-despite-sanctions/