reuters.com – By Brian Ellsworth and Davide Scigliuzzo – Goldman Sachs Group Inc’s statement that it never transacted directly with the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro when it bought $2.8 billion of bonds for pennies on the dollar was dismissed by the country’s opposition on Tuesday as an effort to “put lipstick on this pig.” Goldman, in a statement late Monday confirming the purchase, said its asset-management arm acquired the bonds “on the secondary market from a broker and did not interact with the Venezuelan government.” (A look into Venezuela’s economic crisis here)
The New York-based investment bank came under fire from Venezuelan politicians and protesters in New York opposed to Maduro, who said the deal provided the cash-strapped government hundreds of millions of dollars in badly-needed hard currency. The deal, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, made Goldman complicit in alleged human rights abuses under the government, they said.
“As hard as it may try, Goldman Sachs … cannot put lipstick on this pig of a deal for Venezuelans,” the head of the opposition-led congress Julio Borges said.
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