Saturday, March 16, 2019

President Maduro Linked to Ugandan Gold Probe

It was just a week ago I was quoting myself:
  • Socialism: System where politicians become the wealthiest members of society 
  • Capitalism: System where financiers become the most politically powerful members of society
From the OCCRP, 15 March 2019:

Ugandan authorities are investigating unexplained imports of 7.4 tonnes of gold worth US$300 million that is suspected of originating with President Maduro’s regime in Venezuela.
The investigation is centred on African Gold Refinery (AGR), the country’s largest refinery, Reuters reported on Wednesday. AGR confirmed that the gold arrived from South America but rejected claims of smuggling.
 
“All our transactions are legal and well documented,” the company said in a statement to OCCRP, dismissing the allegations as “fake news.”

Fred Enanga, a spokesman for Uganda’s police, told Reuters that AGR received two shipments of 3.8 and 3.6 tonnes at the beginning of March however neither passed through official customs entry points.

Police raided AGR premises on March 7 but found the lighter batch had disappeared.
Flights this month from Caracas to Entebbe have raised suspicions that Nicolas Maduro’s government is smuggling gold out of the country and selling it to traders in Africa and the Middle East in an attempt to prop up its sanctions-hit economy.

An airline source told The Times that a European charter company was contracted to fly four tonnes of gold from Caracas to Entebbe early this year......
...MORE

And way back in 2015 we were posting stuff like:
"Venezuela energy crisis: President tells women to stop using hairdryers and go with 'natural' style to save electricity"
The Bolivarian Workers Paradise is very close to becoming an humanitarian disaster.
It wasn't enough for Hugo Chavez to run the country into the mud, now it seems Maduro is intent on burying it.
So who ends up with the oil?
See also "...Hugo Chavez's ambassador daughter is Venezuela's richest woman" for some background on Maria Gabriela and her four billion bucks.