NYT: U.S. managed $12 billion in Venezuelan oil revenue, secret report reveals
Between January and September of this year, the “Venezuela Custodial Account,” a mechanism created by the U.S. Treasury Department, recorded deposits of $12.26 billion.
A confidential report by global financial services firm KPMG, revealed by The New York Times, details how the U.S. government managed Venezuela’s oil revenue following the military incursion that took place last January.
According to the document, drafted just days before the midterm elections in Washington, U.S. authorities received and disbursed more than $12 billion from Venezuelan energy resource exports during the first nine months of 2026.
The funds were managed through the “Venezuela Custody Account,” a mechanism created by the U.S. Department of the Treasury that initially operated in Qatar before being transferred to Citibank in New York. Between the military intervention on January 3 and the end of September, the account recorded deposits of $12.26 billion, accrued nearly $12 million in interest, and maintained a final balance of $170 million.
The operational dynamics described in the report reveal that, although the vast majority of the money was quickly returned to Venezuela—supporting Washington’s argument that it was acting merely as a custodian of the country’s oil wealth—U.S. authorities retain the final say over how the capital is used and released. Each transaction required joint approval from the State Department and the Treasury Department after financial integrity criteria had been verified.
Crude oil sales were the account’s main source of revenue, dominated by commodities giants Trafigura and Vitol, which accounted for 61% of deposits by the end of September. Smaller revenues from minerals and fertilizers were also recorded, including $100 million contributed by Trafigura for the purchase of gold.
However, the report offers only a partial picture of national revenues, leaving out independent marketing agreements such as those involving U.S. company Chevron and local firm NABEP, as well as the informal gold trade to the Middle East.
As for how the funds returned to Venezuelan territory were used, most of them ($11.7 billion) went toward supporting the national currency, the bolívar, through foreign currency auctions conducted via the commercial banking system. This figure is consistent with estimates from independent firms such as Síntesis Financiera. In addition, U.S. officials authorized about $130 million to settle the Venezuelan state’s international debts to other governments and multilateral organizations, The New York Times reports.