Novobanco withholds €1Bn blocked from banks in Venezuela

Novo Banco has withheld about €1 billion from Venezuelan companies – money that was blocked to Venezuelan public companies in 2019, ​Expresso revealed this Friday. 

Some €300 million has already been returned to a bank in Caracas, since the total amount amounted to €1.3 billion.

This amount was temporarily held at Caixa Geral de Depósitos by court order, but in 2023 there was an order to return it to the accounts of Novo Banco, which has since been acquired by BPCE. ​

Among the Venezuelan public companies that saw the Portuguese bank pocket the money are Petróleos de Venezuela and Banco de Desarrollo Económico y Social de Venezuela. ​

The case dates back to when BES entered Venezuela in 2012, through an agency, which former Novobanco CEO António Ramalho would later close. ​

The bank closed the accounts of Venezuelan public companies in 2019 and, according to the publication, refused to hand over the money, arguing that it did not know who had the legitimacy to claim it, given that the electoral victory of Nicolás Maduro was not recognised, even though it was clear that the election had been in favor of Juan Guaidó.

SOURCE: Negócios