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Auditors working on behalf of Venezuela's National Assembly have found that more than eleven billion dollars ($11,000,000,000) is missing, and unaccounted for, at PDVSA, the country's petroleum agency, and have pointed fingers squarely at the agency's former head, Rafael Ramirez*, the current Venezuelan ambassador to the United Nations. Ramirez has not responded to the charges.
Alberto Diamond Superintendent of Banks - Panama
PDVSA has been reportedly the object of massive corruption, including overpricing of purchases, and diverting the difference to corrupt Venezuelan PEPs, PDVSA managers, and oil industry officials. the agency has also been accused of laundering drug profits, being an illegal source of US dollars, and massive cases of corruption, The agency's profits, which are the property of the people of Venezuela, have disappeared, leaving it unable to service its bond issues, as they come due, and it may actually be insolvent, all due to systemic corruption. As oil revenues are the major source funding of the Venezuelan Government, Country Risk will most certainly increase in 2016.
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* Ramirez is allegedly the first cousin of the imprisoned Venezuelan terrorist, known as Carlos, "the Jackal," presently serving a life sentence in a French prison; Carlos' real name is Illich Ramírez Sánchez. Rafael has denied that he is related to Carlos.
