#Ghosn’s Getaway Jet’s Other Job? Ferrying #Venezuela’s #Gold to #Turkey-

Trying to move tons of gold or whisk a dictator to safety? 
Need to extract a corporate executive from house arrest and spirit him across the world? 
Well, have we’ve got the perfect jet for you!





Ghosn Getaway Jet’s Other Job: Ferrying Venezuelan Gold

#Venezuela-#Turkey #Gold for Food Trading Scheme hides many stories

Retrofitted criminal networks are being used to trade gold for the subsidized food rations that's propping up the regime.

Good piece from Bloomberg on the criminal alliance between the new best friends, Venezuela's Maduro and Turkey's Erdogan-and the ColombianLebanese raking in the billions along the way... As They say, My Enemy's Enemy, is My Friend...

"With the coup attempt," Erdogan said at a news conference earlier this year, "we met Maduro. It has been a good beginning."

Maduro and Erdogan in Istanbul in October 2016.

Photographer: Kayhan Ozer/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Within weeks of the July call, Maduro announced his first trip to Turkey. Before the end of 2016, that Turkish Airlines route between Istanbul and Caracas was inaugurated, and delegations from the two countries started crisscrossing the Atlantic to forge deals. They began to construct a secretive business network, one that could operate out of reach of financial sanctions imposed by the U.S. It would be a network that trades in two powerful currencies for Venezuela: gold and food.

Maduro was saddled with a near-worthless currency, the bolívar, that had been bludgeoned by years of hyperinflation. Profits from his country's massive oil reserves, which had funded the Venezuelan government for decades, were evaporating because of falling prices, a neglected and crumbling infrastructure, rampant corruption, and international isolation. Venezuelans were starving, and Maduro's approval rating had plummeted. So he grasped a financial lifeline in gold, one of the only resources of value he had left.

In August 2016, Maduro announced that a state mining company called Minerven would be the sole official gold buyer in the vast tracts of jungle, savanna, and rolling hills where mining had long been clandestine and unregulated—essentially legalizing a business lorded over by murderous gangs. He sent in troops to force miners to comply and began hoovering up ore from open-pit mines. (Through a spokesman, Victor Cano, the mining minister, declined to comment for this story.) Maduro also started cashing in on the billions of dollars' worth of gold bars that Chávez, who was loath to invest in U.S. dollars, had stockpiled. The sell-off carried hints of desperation. According to sources in Venezuela's central bank, the government secretly sold the bank's massive collection of rare gold coins, dating to the 18th century. The coins, box upon box of them, were thrown together in a single 30-ton sale in late 2017, and Venezuela accepted a price based on their weight alone, not their collectible value.

Seems like it's official: #Venezuela Seeks Buyer for #Citgo #MasterEnergy

#PDVSA “is currently seeking to monetize its ownership interest in us,” Citgo said in a July 29 bond prospectus document. “There can be no assurance as to whether a transaction will occur or as to the nature or timing of any potential transaction.”


See the whole article on Bloomberg: Venezuela Seeks Buyer for Citgo Petroleum Refinery Unit - Bloomberg

Trafigura Following Raffles Into Heart of Asian Trade - Bloomberg

Venezuela Repatriates ‘People’s Gold’ Due to Gold’s ‘Historic’, ‘Symbolic’ & ‘Financial’ Value

Do NOT follow this link or you will be banned from the site!

Populism at its best!!!

… but then again, Chavez may prefer to have the gold closer to home before some court puts its eyes/hands on it, in order to guarantee payment for one of the many suits Chavez's Bolivarian Kleptocracy faces overseas (Exxon, Conoco, etc.)

Venezuela Repatriates 'People's Gold' Due to Gold's 'Historic', 'Symbolic' & 'Financial' Value

From GoldCore Venezuela Repatriates 'People's Gold' Due to Gold's 'Historic', 'Symbolic' & 'Financial' Value Gold is trading at USD 1,712.30, EUR 1,280.80, GBP 1,100.00, CHF 1,574.70 and JPY 133,080 per ounce.  Gold's London AM fix this morning was USD 1,714.00, GBP 1,100.41, and EUR 1,280.06 per ounce. Friday's AM fix was USD 1,676.00, GBP 1,084.02, and EUR 1,263.86 per ounce. Cross Currency Rates Gold is higher in most currencies today. Gold is higher due to the dollar coming under pressure and oil prices (WTI) have surged over 3%.  Stock markets are also higher on fresh hopes Europe will unveil yet another set of measures to tackle the deepening contagion in the Eurozone.   Monetary and systemic risks remain and should see gold well supported at the $1,700/oz level. Indeed, gold could have bottomed on options expiry last week – as is often the case. Western physical buyers continue to accumulate due to currency concerns. While, demand is robust, there is no panic buying or mass "flocking to gold". Physical buyers of gold in India, the world's biggest consumer of bullion, remain on the sidelines even though traders offered discounts of up to $5 per ounce to global prices, according to Reuters. Chinese New Year buying should commence soon which will be supportive of prices and make up for the expected decline in Indian demand. The currency war meme continues as seen in wild scenes of celebration in Caracas on Friday when Venezuelan citizens partied in the streets as their gold reserves were repatriated. Reuters reports the first shipment of gold bars arrived home in Venezuela on Friday "amid wild celebrations." Excited crowds lined the roadside waving big Venezuelan flags and chanting "It's returned! It's returned!" as a convoy of soldiers and armored cars carried the gold ingots from Maiquetia airport to the central bank in Caracas. The President of the central bank, Nelson Merentes traveled into the city at the head of the convoy. He did not say how much gold bullion was brought back in Friday's shipment but said the bullion came from several European countries. "Our gold is being stored in the vaults," Merentes told the cheering crowds, sporting a baseball cap that read "The Central Bank of Venezuela with the People."  "It has historic value. It has symbolic value. And it has financial value," bank chief Merentes said about the first shipment. "Each box of gold weighs 500 kilograms and is worth about $30 million," Merentes said before cheering crowds. "We'll bring the rest back little by little." Merentes is in favor of the move and said, "The country's finances will be backed by autonomous wealth, so we are not subject to pressure from anyone," UPI reported. "This guarantees that if there are financial problems in the international markets our gold will be safe here at home," Merentes said. Drums and sirens sounded out across the square as many in the crowd sang "Forward comandante!" in support of the president. Some waved homemade signs that said: "The gold has returned thanks to Chavez!" and "Long live our sovereignty!" Chavez addressed the nation on local television last week with the Council of Ministers, the Executive Cabinet and representatives of the Venezuelan Central Bank, including bank chief, Nelson Merentes. Speaking from the Miraflores presidential palace Chavez said the move was giving back the country's, "Body and soul," and went on to say the return of the gold gave Venezuela more independence from what he described as imperialist powers. While brandishing a copy of the constitution he explained that the Central Bank would carry out the repatriation. Chavez said the central bank would now be independent of foreign powers and subject only to the national constitution.  Chavez announced the repatriation in August as a "sovereign" step that would help protect Venezuela's foreign reserves from economic turmoil in the United States and Europe. Most of Venezuela's gold held abroad is in London. "They say Chavez is going to take the gold to Miraflores (presidential palace) and is going to give it to Cuba as a gift," the president chuckled on Friday, mocking political rivals who accuse him of planning to sell the ingots to fill his electoral war chest ahead of next year's election. "The gold is returning to where it was always meant to be: The vaults of the Central Bank of Venezuela." "It's our gold. It's the economic reserve for our kids. It's growing and its going to keep growing, both gold and economic reserves," said Chavez. "Venezuela is going to become an economic power, not for the bourgeois or capitalism, but for the Venezuelan people." A central bank report released in August showed that Venezuela held gold reserves with the Bank of England, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Barclays Plc and Standard Chartered Plc among other banks. Merentes said in August that Venezuela will look to deposit some of its $6.3 billion of cash reserves in emerging-market financial institutions in Russia, China and Brazil. Like most of those gathered outside the bank, 62-year-old university professor Jose Escalona wholeheartedly agreed. "There was no reason for it to be in England," he said. "This gold belongs to all Venezuelans," he told Reuters. A senior government source involved in transporting the bars, which amount to 90% of Venezuela's gold held abroad, has told Reuters they will be shipped in several cargo flights that will be completed before the end of the year. The total cost of the operation will be no more than $9 million, the source said, without elaborating. Chavez often accuses previous presidents of selling off Venezuelans' national assets, including by storing most of the country's gold reserves with Western banks in the mid-1980s. Chavez is worried about Venezuela's foreign reserves being frozen by sanctions. By repatriating the bullion, he also reduces the risk of any seizure of assets related to arbitration cases, including those linked to the nationalization of multibillion-dollar oil projects run by US multinationals. Critics have suggested that Mr Chavez is acting out of fears Venezuela's overseas assets could one day be frozen by sanctions, as happened to his friend and ally, the late Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi. Chavez, the Venezuelan central bank and some of its people clearly understand the value of gold.  This is in marked contrast to the majority of people in the western world who have forgotten gold's 'historic', 'symbolic' & 'financial' value. With increasing systemic and monetary risk, gold is reasserting itself as money and as an important safe haven monetary asset. SILVER  Silver is trading at $32.03/oz, €23.98/oz and £20.58/oz  PLATINUM GROUP METALS  Platinum is trading at $1,551.63/oz, palladium at $590.50/oz and rhodium at $1,575/oz.

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Who stole my gold?

Dossier

Who stole my gold?

Venezuela

 

Humpty Dumpty - A quarter of the Venezuelan gold pays taxes, the rest vanishes. That is what the President of the Bolivarian Republic informed with a gold bar in his hands (Photo: AVN)

 The only joint venture in the mining sector has been already denounced. The labor union of Venrus points out that some gold bars -- that could amount to 81 suitcases filled with stolen dollars like Antonini s -- vanished


JOSEPH POLISZUK | EL UNIVERSAL

Saturday September 03, 2011 05:50 PM

From 23 million tons of gold that left the country last year, only six million reported taxes, said Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez in an obligatory simultaneous broadcast. "What is that?" he queried from Miraflores Palace. "Mafia, smuggling, we have to get rid of it." In El Callao, they add, however, that malfeasance goes under the government's nose.

Workers of the mine La Isidora warn about theft, loss or evaporation of more than 30,000 tons of auriferous material, the raw material of gold. "They were swallowed by the earth," Edward López affirms. "They steal the half from us and the State," he added.

Everything started because of a problem with fees: workers noted that the amount of raw material they extracted from that place in the State of Bolivar did not match with the earnings in their payment receipts. And a string of demands and counterclaims continued afterwards.

On the one hand, the company brought a criminal action against four trade union leaders. On the other hand, workers substantiated a case file with charges for fraud against the nation.

Gold bars missing"They cheated us saying that each truck transported 11 tons of auriferous material," says Edward López, one of the trade unionists facing trial. "We struggled to get a scale from the government for a year and a half and it turned out that when they installed it, we realized that each truck transported several tons beyond the estimated amount."

Only in this case, more than USD 65 million vanished completely. Gold transcended the barrier of USD 1,800 per ounce. The gold bar that disappeared from the mine La Isidora would amount to 81 suitcases filled with stolen dollars as Antonini Wilson's. In addition to the amount, the company is none than Venrus, the only one that the government had become partner with even before announcing the nationalization.

The gold mafias - whom President Hugo Chávez asked to get rid of in nationwide broadcast— are not that hidden. The labor union of the mine La Isidora points out that most of the smuggling goes by ordinary means and even under the guise of joint ventures, as the one that the government organized under the name of Venrus, in company with Russian capital.

Official anouncementsPresident Hugo Chávez recently announced -- at Council of Ministers meeting-- a new strategic plan for mining areas in the State of Bolívar. He had been warning about a new law for the group. Finally, holding a gold bar in his hand, he informed that the exploitation from now on would be carried out by joint ventures that have been operating in the petroleum area for some years.

Earlier, Minister of Petroleum and Energy Rafael Ramírez had already disclosed a bit of the plans: "Everyone who knows the southern area of the country and the mining arch of Guayana, can tell that gold has been in hands of transnational companies which operate in different ways: undercover, on the wrong side of the law and they are stealing our natural resources."

Ramírez spoke about stealing the nation, and in order to stop it as the value of the ounce of gold has peaked, he added that the State would nationalize gold mines through a new regulation by means of the Enabling Law.

It is now clear that what the government has called the nationalization of gold is intended to substitute the usual concessions for models of joint ventures, in which the State can ensure the majority stake in the firms that extract the mineral. But in El Callao, they insist that the status of joint ventures is not enough.

"We agree with nationalization, but if the State does not take a stance and take measures, they will keep stealing," López notes. He is positive that this has been the case with Venrus, whose stocks are shared by the Venezuelan government and Russian company Rusoro Mining Ltd in equal parts, and traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange in Canada.

Those in Venrus have chosen a low profile. Although an attempt was made to learn about their opinion, its representatives would not answer the phone. For now, they have not stated what they will do to face the changes announced by the government, or the claims of workers.

From London, however, the Chief Executive Officer of Rusoro, Andrei Agapov, said that when the Venezuelan president gave the news of the gold nationalization, he did not mean the whole sector; instead, the measure was aimed to fight against the mafias, which he attributes mainly to small mining.

Agapov --who according to The Wall Street Journal has bonds and friendship with Chávez-- thinks that the Head of State's words were directed to those who extract gold in illegal ways and without permission.

Without compassThere is no defined policy for gold, concluded the ex- mayor of Sifontes municipality in the State of Bolívar, Carlos Chancellor. He also speaks about "the terrible failure of this government in terms of mining."

For Chancellor, it is not accident that President Chávez included a gold plan in his agenda these days. He does not even think that it is all about electioneering to win the miners' vote, but simply an opportunity to seize the rise the market is offering. The swings of world economy have multiplied the value of this and other commodities and under those circumstances the government seemed to be worried about the mafias that have always been in the mines of the country.

"What a coincidence that in this very moment, when gold has an astonishing high price, the government wants to put its hands on the sector!" Chancellor wonders.

jpoliszuk@eluniversal.com

Translated by Adrián Valera Villani

Who stole my gold? - Daily News - EL UNIVERSAL

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