WASHINGTON -- The Trump administration says it has returned more than US$12 billion, or almost 99 per cent, of the revenue obtained from the sales of Venezuelan oil since it ousted then-President Nicolas Maduro in January. In a report released Thursday by the State Department, the accounting firm KPMG said the sales of Venezuelan crude, along with minor amounts of gold, minerals and fertilizer, produced US$12.26 billion. Almost all of the money has been returned to Venezuela under the terms of a broad energy deal reached with the country’s interim authorities, according to the report. As of Sept. 30, the end of the 2026 budget year, $168.6 million remained in an escrow account managed by the U.S. Treasury Department, the report said. Under the terms of the deal, Venezuelan crude is sold on the open market, with proceeds going into the U.S.-managed account. Venezuelan officials then seek approval for those funds to be returned to the country to pay for infrastructure and humanitarian needs. The report offers a window into the Venezuelan government’s finances since the U.S. captured Maduro -- bringing him to New York to face drug-trafficking charges -- and took effective control of the country’s dilapidated oil industry. The bulk of the more than US$12 billion in oil revenue collected by the U.S. through September was disbursed to individuals and businesses in Venezuela through foreign exchange transactions with commercial banks in the country. However, some $133 million was channeled to directly pay for services or supplies needed by the Venezuelan government, the report showed. U.S.-approved transactions include $5 million for Miami-based law firm Greenberg Traurig, nearly $24 million for dialysis and coal-mining equipment, and $8.7 million to settle Venezuela’s debts for vaccine procurements with the Pan-American Health Organization, it said. The report redacts the names of the 20 companies that purchased oil and gold during the first nine months of 2026. Still, each had to go through vetting by the U.S. government for compliance with sanctions and money-laundering controls -- a sharp break from past practice when Venezuela’s government faced little scrutiny in the management of its oil funds.
