Venezuela shuts down crypto mining facilities, exchanges amid corruption probe

cointelegraph.com:

Venezuela's energy supplier has shut down crypto mining facilities throughout the country as part of a reorganization of the national crypto department and ongoing corruption investigations involving the country's oil company.

According to local media reports, crypto mining companies, and tweets from Venezuela's National Association of Cryptocurrencies, mining facilities were shut down in the past days in the states of Lara, Carabobo and Bolívar. It is unclear how many crypto firms were affected. Some crypto exchanges were also ordered to cease operations.

#ULTIMAHORA se confirma que fue solicitado el apagado de las granjas de mineria digital en el Estado Bolívar. Consideramos esta un medida arbitraria, qué va en contra de los intereses de la industria privada.

The closure of crypto mining facilities is believed to be part of an ongoing investigation of corruption involving Venezuela's oil company PDVSA and the country's crypto department. 

Comunicado relacionado a los recientes cortes de servicio eléctrico experimentados en todas las infraestructuras de hashrate del país——————————————Announcement related to the recent power cuts in all Venezuelan hashrate infrastructures. pic.twitter.com/V4IRlLUL0r

Venezuela's attorney general Tarek William Saab disclosed on March 25 that government officials were allegedly running parallel oil operations with the assistance of the national crypto department. Saab noted on Twitter:

According to Saab, at least 10 people have been arrested in connection with the investigations, including Joselit Ramirez Camacho who led the crypto department since its inception in 2018 overseeing crypto tax rules and the country's cryptocurrency Petro. According to earlier reports, Camacho was arrested on March