Citigroup Settles Venezuela Gold Swap Transaction
- Citi to deposit about $260 million in a U.S. bank account
- Venezuelan President Maduro won’t be able to access the funds
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Citigroup Inc. has settled a Venezuela gold swap transaction and plans to sell the metal it received as collateral while also depositing about $260 million into a U.S. account formerly controlled by President Nicolas Maduro’s central bank, according to four people with direct knowledge of the matter.
After Venezuela’s Central Bank missed a March 11 deadline to buy back gold from Citigroup for nearly $1.1 billion as part of a financing agreement signed in 2015, the difference in price from when the gold was acquired to current levels will be deposited into an account, said the people, who asked not to be named speaking about a private transaction.