Portuguese bank halted $1.2 billion transfer of Venezuela funds: lawmaker

[TomSea]

Big Story 10
February 5, 2019 / 12:07 PM / Updated 19 hours ago
Portuguese bank halted $1.2 billion transfer of Venezuela funds: lawmaker

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.

Read more at: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-politics-portugal-idUSKCN1PU23S