According to former employees, a case of corruption in the public body led the government of Nicolás Maduro to reorganize SUNACRIP’s attributions.
The National Superintendence of ‘Cryptoactives and Related Activities’ (SUNACRIP, by its acronym in Spanish), Venezuela’s state cryptocurrency division, has intensified its layoffs of staff following a recent corruption scandal.
With the news, employees were not at risk of losing their jobs, however, in practice, this was not the case. In the last few days, a significant number of employees, who didn’t even know about the corruption case, ended up losing their jobs. The information was disseminated by TalCual, a local Venezuelan portal that spoke with some of the dismissed.
Venezuela Fires State Cryptocurrency Division Officials
In the midst of SUNACRIP’s reorganization after the corruption scandal, everything indicates that Maduro’s government removed the immobility of the institution’s public servants.
The employees reported that they received a communication informing them that they did not need to return to work after Easter, that is, starting next Monday (April 10) they should not return to work.
“Anything we call you back,” the statement to employees says. Several former public servants did not understand the measures adopted by the government, but they fear denouncing the case and suffering reprisals from a regime with various international accusations of being authoritarian.
As will be recalled, on April 7, through the social network Twitter, some workers spoke out about this fact, which appears to be an indirect dismissal of SUNACRIP employees in Venezuela. In the tweets they highlight that they are innocent employees, without involvement with the corruption plot; In addition, they affirm that, according to the SUNACRIP restructuring decree, this is not how the process of moving personnel should be.
It should be noted that SUNACRIP dismissed not only ordinary employees but also coordinators and other positions. However, many now believe they are in labor limbo and have not been told if they will receive their salary normally, or if the government will come up with an agreement with everyone.
SUNACRIP Symbols Are Being Removed from Buildings
What has drawn even more attention, in addition to the layoffs of officials in Venezuela’s cryptocurrency division, is that SUNACRIP’s symbols are beginning to disappear from buildings.
As the cryptocurrency body has been associated with a corruption scandal and undergoes drastic changes, it is not yet clear whether the government intends to change the name of the body or simply extinguish the past.
Compounding the problems surrounding SUNACRIP is the fact that Venezuela’s national cryptocurrency, the Petro, appears to hold users’ values in its wallet. On social networks, many users regret having trusted the government system, but now they have not been able to access their own money since March.
The Venezuelan situation involving the cryptocurrency market has escalated towards increasing authoritarianism, which has even imposed the suspension of cryptocurrency brokerage and mining services. It is not yet known for sure what may happen in the future, but the community fears that the country will close the doors of cryptocurrencies again, after years of taking advantage of the technology.
By Audy Castaneda
