$500 Million Stashed in Qatar from Sale of Venezuelan Oil

Hundreds of millions of dollars that the United States is raising from the sale of Venezuelan oil are being sequestered in Qatar.

It’s an indirect path that could speed the flow of much-needed money to Venezuela, but it also raises questions about the transparency surrounding those funds, Chris Isidore and Adam Cancryn reported for CNN.

The Trump administration confirmed the first sale of Venezuelan oil this wek, saying it raised $500 million. It is just the first of numerous sales expected to bring in billions of dollars in the months — and potentially years — to come.

The funds were sent to Qatar, rather than being held in U.S. banks or sent directly to Venezuela, according to a former administration official familiar with the matter.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Newsmax recently that the cash from the oil sales would start to flow into Venezuela within the week.

Venezuelan banks have started advertising cash, suggesting the oil proceeds have arrived in the country, two sources with knowledge of Venezuela’s financial system said.

Venezuela has been sanctioned by Western governments around the globe and has been essentially cut off from the global banking system for years. Its authoritarian government seized oil assets over the past decades, for which foreign energy companies have demanded compensation.