The New York Times reports a confidential KPMG report shows the U.S. government
received and spent more than $12 bln from Venezuelan natural-resource exports in
the first nine months of this year. The report, dated days before the U.S.
midterm elections, says between Jan. 3 — the date it cites as the start of U.S.
military intervention — and Sept. 30 the U.S. Treasury’s Venezuela custodial
account received $12.26 bln in deposits. Most funds were reallocated shortly
after receipt; the account held about $170 mln at Sept. 30 and earned roughly
$12 mln in interest. The bulk of funds returned to Venezuela were sold into the
market via FX auctions run by Venezuelan commercial banks; the report does not
identify the ultimate beneficiaries of those proceeds.
