Is a mystery plane heading to Russia loaded with Venezuelan gold?
The Kremlin has called reports of 20 tons of Venezuelan gold heading to Russia fake news. Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov advised the public against listening to rumors.
On Wednesday, a member of the Venezuelan opposition and former banker at the country’s central bank, Jose Guerra, claimed he has information of the planned shipment of tons of gold bars, amounting to 20 percent of the bank’s holdings. The lawmaker said that a Russian jet, which arrived from Moscow, was ready to transport the cargo.
MP @JoseAGuerra "We get information from officials of the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV): a plane arrived from Moscow, in which they intend to extract at least 20 tons of gold, and we demand from the BCV details of what is happening" https://t.co/BIeHCTPK5l via @AsambleaVEpic.twitter.com/TRr7VM6cLK
— Liveuamap World (@lumworld) January 29, 2019
The statement was then reported by Bloomberg, and then by other Western media. The rumors were fueled by other reports, claiming that a mystery Boeing 777, which can carry some 400 passengers and belonging to Russia's Nordwind Airlines, was spotted at the local airport after flying direct from Moscow.
Also on rt.com Refusal to hand over Venezuelan gold means end of Britain as a financial center – Prof. WolffThe Kremlin rejected the reports, calling them fake news.
“There is no such information,” said Peskov. “It is necessary to be very cautious about different hoaxes,” he added.
Finance Minister Simon Zerpa declined to comment on the nation’s gold and also said there was no Russian plane at Simon Bolivar International Airport.“I’m going to start bringing Russian and Turkish airplanes every week so everybody gets scared.” https://t.co/hJBFBNx5bH
— Scott Rose (@rprose) January 30, 2019
Vladimir Putin’s spokesman also stressed that Russia is ready to help resolve the political turmoil in Venezuela “without interfering in the country’s internal affairs” as Moscow is against any third countries’ meddling in Venezuela’s politics.
The South American nation plunged deeper into political crisis after opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself interim president following calls for regime change from Washington. The US and some other Western nations were quick to recognize Guaido as the country’s new leader, while Russia, Turkey, Iran, and China pledged their support for President Nicolas Maduro, who was sworn in for his second term earlier this year.
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