Wyden, Warren, Whitehouse Press Trump Administration Over Revenue from Venezuelan Oil and Gold Deals

Wyden, Warren, Whitehouse Press Trump Administration Over Revenue from Venezuelan Oil and Gold Deals

Senators raise concerns over oil revenue slush fund for Trump officials, suspension of anti-money laundering laws

Washington, D.C. - Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Environment and Public Works Committee Ranking Member Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., today pressed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Secretary of State Marco Rubio over the Trump administration's role in overseeing Venezuelan oil transactions.

Since January, the administration has controlled billions of dollars in deposits derived from Venezuelan natural resource sales with no transparency about what, if any, safeguards are in place to prevent misuse and public corruption. According to recent reporting, at least $13 billion has now been deposited into these accounts jointly overseen by the Treasury Department and the State Department.

In their letter, the senators raised concerns that without oversight, the administration could use the revenue to redirect and misuse billions of dollars without congressional authorization or approval. In addition, the senators sounded the alarm on the Treasury Department's decision to suspend enforcement of a critical U.S. anti-money laundering law for transactions in Venezuela for six months, opening the door for unprecedented business deals between the U.S. government and criminal and corrupt entities.

"This arrangement, particularly given the lack of transparency, raises concerns that the Administration may use its control over the revenues to direct billions in funds without congressional authorization or approval, whether by encouraging or coercing Venezuela to request specific payments or purchases or by directly disbursing the funds," the senators wrote. "There are also significant risks of corruption and money laundering in the Venezuelan financial system, and it is unclear how your Departments are conducting due diligence or otherwise taking preventive steps before disbursing these funds."

Earlier this year, Wyden pressed Trafigura, a global commodities trader, over a massive gold deal brokered by the Trump administration involving the purchase of $100 million worth of gold from mines controlled by Venezuelan cartels.

In June, Wyden and Warren pressed the administration over what due diligence it did while sourcing gold for the production of 24-karat gold coins with Trump's image on them, to ensure the gold did not originate in terrorist-controlled Venezuelan mines.

The full letter is here.

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