CARACAS, (Reuters) – Venezuela’s Central Bank filed a lawsuit yesterday with allegations of “cyber-terrorism” against a U.S.-based website that tracks the OPEC member’s currency black market.
The DolarToday site (dolartoday.com) has enraged President Nicolas Maduro’s government by publishing a rate in Venezuelan bolivars for the greenback far higher than the three official levels under Venezuela’s 12-year-long currency controls.
The rate has become an unofficial marker in the crisis-ridden economy, with some Venezuelans using it in private transactions or to fix prices of imported goods.
The lawsuit, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, named three Venezuelans in the United States as being behind the site: Gustavo Diaz, Ivan Lozada and Jose Altuve.
A representative of DolarToday could not immediately be reached by email or telephone for comment. The Central Bank requested both an injunction and damages, accusing the three of fanning inflation in Venezuela, the world’s highest, and enriching themselves by illegal trading. “Defendants conspired to use a form of cyber-terrorism to wreak, and in fact they have wreaked, economic and reputational harm on the Central Bank by impeding its ability to manage the Republic’s economy and foreign exchange system,” the lawsuit said.
