U.S. Seizure Slams Market for Dollars in Venezuela

Online.WSJ.com ^ | March 28, 2009 | n/a

[Cindy]

Venezuela's economically crucial black market for dollars was all but frozen Friday following the money-laundering arrest of an owner of a small Florida financial firm, adding to tensions between the U.S. and Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.

The arrest has reverberated through the Latin American country because the firm, Rosemont Finance Corp., serves as a key U.S. clearing house for dozens of black-market brokerages -- trading houses that exploit loopholes to sell dollars despite an official Venezuelan ban on private firms buying and selling currency at unofficial rates. The federal case has ensnared millions of dollars from these trades and the ...

[Cindy]

Hat Tip to Internet-Haganah.com
http://www.internet-haganah.com

http://osint.internet-haganah.com/archives/001572.html#001572

March 28, 2009
“TIMING IS EVERYTHING”

[Carry_Okie]

Good post.

[Cindy]

Thank you Carry Okie.

This may prove interesting as more info becomes available.

[rodguy911]

Great work as usual Cindy!

[Zhang Fei]

What's amusing is that Venezuelan government ministries are bypassing the country's central bank to sell their dollars in the black market. I guess just because Chavez says Venezuelan currency is worth a certain amount in dollars doesn't mean that it can't be worth 1/3 as much in the free marketplace. His own government ministries are disagreeing with him. From the article:

Although it operates in a legal limbo, Venezuela's black market for dollars has become increasingly important in recent months as plunging oil prices have squeezed the OPEC nation's economy. Seeking to stretch their budgets, the Venezuelan Finance Ministry and oil company PDVSA have become the principal sellers of dollars on the market, where they get nearly three times as much per dollar as they would get selling to the central bank, according to three major Caracas currency brokers.

[Cindy]

Thanks rodguy911.

[Cindy]

“His own government ministries are disagreeing with him.”

Well now, that’s interesting.

Thank you for the additional info Zhang Fei.

[philly-d-kidder]

buenisimo!!!

[Cindy]

:>)

[mick]

ping for later read

[Cindy]

Thank you Mick.

[philly-d-kidder]

De TODO!! en vez de NADA!

[SunkenCiv]

Venezuela's economically crucial black market for dollars was all but frozen Friday following the money-laundering arrest of an owner of a small Florida financial firm, adding to tensions between the U.S. and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

[rodguy911]

Thanks you Cindy for all the hard work.
Your efforts are more important now than ever.

[Cindy]

Thank you rodguy911.