Is Venezuela Turning Airport Taxes To Crypto For Avoiding Sanctions?

According to some latest reports, the Venezuelan government seems to have been diverting their revenues from airport tax to Bitcoin and other forms of digital currencies to evade the reach of international sanctions. As per the research done by Spanish print media outlet ABC, the country’s highly controversial President Nicolas Maduro and his administration are allegedly making use of a cryptocurrency wallet app to turn revenue generated from airport tax into different forms of crypto assets. Apparently, these assets are then traded in top cryptocurrency exchanges spread across countries like Russia, Iran, China, Hungary etc. Interestingly, most of these countries that have been mentioned in the report are also trying to use crypto’s basic technology blockchain to bypass the might of economic sanctions imposed by the US.

At the time of these crypto assets being sold off at these foreign exchanges, the money earned from that are allegedly being sent back to Venezuela. Basically, in this way, the government is trying to ensure that it does not have to suffer from the ill effects of international economic sanctions, especially US ones, which have caused it to experience great difficulty in getting its hands on foreign currency. Since this is affecting its ability to engage in free foreign trade, it is quite naturally desperate to circumvent the system.

Apparently, all the tax revenue that the Venezuelan Government collects from the busy Maiquetia International Airport (IAIM), near Caracas, are collected through an automated network that connects to the Jetman Pay app to directly convert them to crypto. In fact, more and more planes are now being made to land in this airport to smuggle off traditional currencies in th buying of fuel, where the state-owned firm Petróleos de Venezuela, is processing payments through Jetman Pay.

Working since February of last year, this reported tactic is yet another way for Venezuela to salvage its fledgling economy by going the crypto route. So far, it seems to be having more success than its oil-backed cryptocurrency Petro did but only time will tell how effective it has been.