VENEZUELA · OIL
Key Facts
- Report Accounting firm KPMG’s report says a US-run account took in US$12.26 billion in nine months.
- Spent About US$11.7 billion went back to Venezuela to support the bolívar, the national currency.
- Gap Our sum of the itemised uses falls roughly US$0.26 billion short of deposits.
- Unknown The report does not say who finally received the auction dollars.
- Power Index Venezuela ranks 12th of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 29.4 points (November 2026 edition).
A confidential KPMG report, as described in US press accounts on 10 and 11 November 2026, says a US-controlled account took in about US$12.26 billion of Venezuelan oil and resource money this year. KPMG is a global accounting firm, and we have not seen the document.
The account sits under the US Treasury Department, the finance ministry in Washington, and officials from it and from the State Department, the US foreign ministry, must sign off before money moves. US officials describe themselves as custodians of Venezuelan oil income, a topic we covered in our earlier article on who has a claim on Venezuelan oil revenue.
What the Report Says
The Venezuela Custody Account was set up after US forces removed President Nicolás Maduro in January 2026. It was first based in Qatar, a location that Democratic lawmakers in the US Congress, the national legislature, criticised, and was later moved to Citibank, a major US bank, in New York.
According to the report, the account received about US$12.26 billion between 3 January and 30 September 2026. Most of it came from sales of Venezuelan crude and other natural-resource exports.
The report says about US$11.7 billion was sent back to Venezuela. That money supported the bolívar through foreign-currency auctions held by commercial banks.
About US$130 million paid foreign bills, including debts to governments and international organisations, according to the report. About US$170 million was left in the account on 30 September, and about US$12 million of interest was collected.
The Gap in the Numbers
Our own sum of the three uses comes to about US$12.0 billion, against US$12.26 billion received. The figures are rounded, so part of the roughly US$0.26 billion difference may be rounding, and the breakdown we have does not say.
The report does not identify who ultimately received the money through the currency auctions. It is also unclear whether that money stayed in the country.
US press accounts describe the report as light on detail and well short of a proper audit. State Department officials had promised Congress an audit of the oil money, those accounts say.
The report does not capture all of Venezuela’s export revenue, only what went through this account. For the company side of that income, see our earlier article on state oil company PDVSA’s revenue.
What US Officials Say
US officials say they serve as custodians of the funds, and the administration says the money was distributed back to Venezuela. One US press account says the speed of disbursement the report describes lends some credence to that claim.
No official response from the Treasury Department, the State Department, KPMG or the Venezuelan government was available when the press accounts were published. Those accounts are the only basis for the figures here.
In Plain English, the Key Terms
A custody account is a bank account held by a trustee on behalf of someone else. US officials say they act as that trustee for Venezuela’s oil money.
A bolívar auction is a sale of dollars through commercial banks to support the bolívar’s value. KPMG is the global accounting firm said to have written the report.
What It Means for You
About US$11.7 billion released from this account went into bolívar auctions, according to the report, so support for the currency leans on US-approved releases. Who gets dollars in the auctions may affect Venezuelan banks, importers and prices.
For US readers, the account ties Venezuelan oil income to US oil and sanctions policy, and Democratic lawmakers have pressed for an audit. Our Venezuela coverage follows the story.
What Is Not Known
Who ultimately received the auction dollars is not known, and neither is what makes up the roughly US$0.26 billion difference. It is also unclear whether the report will be published, and no official reactions are on record yet.
Watch whether the Treasury Department or the State Department publishes its own accounting. Watch also whether Congress gets the audit that State Department officials had promised.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Venezuela Custody Account?
It is a US-controlled account under the US Treasury Department, with Treasury and State Department sign-off on releases, now held at Citibank in New York. It was set up after US forces removed Nicolás Maduro in January 2026.
How much money went through it?
The report says about US$12.26 billion arrived between 3 January and 30 September 2026. It says about US$11.7 billion went back to Venezuela, US$130 million paid foreign bills and US$170 million remained.
Has the report been published?
No, it is confidential and we have not seen it. Whether it will be published is not known.
What is missing from the figures?
Our sum of the itemised uses is about US$12.0 billion, so roughly US$0.26 billion is not itemised, part of it perhaps rounding. The report also does not say who ultimately received the auction dollars.
Sources: A confidential KPMG report on the Venezuela Custody Account, as described in US press accounts of 10 and 11 November 2026; positions attributed in those accounts to US officials and Democratic lawmakers; Rio Times arithmetic.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated AI newsroom. Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief. The Rio Times also runs Ask Rio Times, which answers from 100,000+ of our own articles, the daily Latin America Power Map, and prediction-market odds on elections and markets.. How we use AI · Report an error
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