Venezuelan President Reorganizes Crypto Department, Former FOGADE President Leads New Council

Venezuelan President Nicolwas Maduro announced the FOGADE reorganization. (photo: twitter @NicolasMaduro)

JAKARTA - Venezuelan President Nicolwas Maduro announced the reorganization of the National Superintender of Crypto Assets or Sunacrip in Spanish, according toOOt issued by Madroro on March 17. The new board will lead this reorganization, led by Anabel Pereira Fern Badez, a lawyer who serves as President of Fondo de Garant

Without providing further details or specific reasons for the reorganization, the council said it would plan further steps for the crypto department. The Maduro defense side claims that this step is meant to protect citizens from the negative impact of economic sanctions.

A continuación publicamos la Gaceta Oficial Extraordinaria donde se crea la Junta Reestructuradora de la Sunacrip. https://t.co/au7uiaU7LB

— Asonacrip (Asociación Nacional de Criptomonedas) (@AsonacripVe) March 18, 2023

The new board structure did not include the name Joselit Ramirez, who led the department since its inception in 2018. Ramirez was reportedly arrested on March 17 on corruption charges, according to local Venezuelan media. Currently, Cointelegraph has not been able to confirm the information. Ramirez oversees the country's crypto and cryptocurrency tax rules.

In June 2020, the US added Ramirez to their Most Wanted List. The Homeland Security Investigation Branch of the US Immigration and Customs Agency offered a reward of up to $5 million for any information that would lead to the Petro supervisor's arrest.

At the time, authorities suspected that Ramirez had "strong political, social and economic ties" with suspected drug kings, including Tareck El Aissami, the former vice president of Venezuela.

The reward for Ramirez's arrest was the smallest among alleged conspirators, with the US government offering a reward of 15 million US dollars (Rp230 billion) for the arrest of head of state Nicolrias Maduro. Several other high-ranking officials, including El Aissami, were faced with a prize of 10 million US dollars (Rp153 billion).