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Venezuela’s Parallel Exchange and Bond Market a High-Risk for Money Laundering: Consultants
By Juan Alejandro Baptista
printThis is the scenario: at 9 p.m., the president of a Venezuelan company orders Broker "A" to purchase Venezuelan bonds issued as bolivares. The next morning, the broker exchanges the bonds with Financial Institution "B" in the Cayman Islands for securities issued in dollars. Broker "A" then sells the new securities and transfers the dollars back to the businessman. This exchange, known in Venezuelan markets as "permuta," has raised concerns among U.S. Treasury Department representatives who say that the process lacks transparency and may be ripe for abuse, according to Luis Rivases, president of the Venezuelan Capital Markets Compliance Officers...
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