Venezuela's national electricity supplier has closed cryptocurrency mining facilities across the country as part of a restructuring of the national crypto department and an ongoing investigation into corruption involving the country's oil company.

The closures, which occurred in the states of Lara, Carabobo, and Bolívar, were reported by local media, and confirmed by tweets from Venezuela's National Association of Cryptocurrencies. The number of affected crypto firms is unclear, and some cryptocurrency exchanges were also ordered to halt their operations.

In recent days, crypto mining facilities and some exchanges have been shut down in Venezuela’s states of Lara, Carabobo, and Bolívar. This move is reportedly part of an ongoing corruption investigation involving the country’s oil company PDVSA and the national crypto department. The attorney general, Tarek William Saab, disclosed that government officials were running parallel oil operations with the help of the crypto department, leading to the arrest of at least 10 people, including Joselit Ramirez Camacho, who led the crypto department since its inception in 2018.

Camacho was arrested on March 17 and was listed on the United States’ Most Wanted List since June 2020, with a bounty of up to 5 million USD for any information leading to his capture. The shutdown is believed to be linked to these investigations. On March 17, Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro, issued a decree to reorganize the National Superintendency of Crypto Assets, stating that it was intended to protect the country’s citizens from the negative effects of economic sanctions and other reasons.

Sources:

https://blockchain.news/news/venezuela-shuts-down-crypto-mining-operations

https://cryptodaily.co.uk/2023/03/venezuela-shuts-down-various-crypto-exchanges-and-mining-farms

https://cointelegraph.com/news/venezuela-shuts-down-crypto-mining-facilities-exchanges-amid-corruption-probe

https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/venezuela-shuts-down-crypto-mining-facilities-exchanges-amid-corruption-probe-3040105