January 16, 2026

Warren, Wyden, Whitehouse, Welch and Schatz Launch Probe Into Big Banks’ Role in Trump Administration’s Scheme to Control Venezuelan Oil Profits

“I am writing to request information from [your bank] regarding its communications with the Trump Administration in connection with the Department of Energy’s January 7, 2026 announcement that the United States’s sale of Venezuelan oil will involve ‘key banks to execute and provide financial support for these [oil] sales’ and that the proceeds will settle at ‘U.S. controlled accounts at globally recognized banks.’”

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, Ron Wyden (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Committee on Finance, Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ranking Member of the Committee on Environment and Public Works, Peter Welch (D-VT), and Brian Schatz (D-HI), sent letters to fifteen major banks seeking information on any support provided by the banks to the Trump Administration as it seeks to sell Venezuela's oil on the global market.

The Senators cited a fact sheet from the Department of Energy claiming the Administration has “engaged… key banks to execute and provide financial support for” Venezuelan oil sales and will then route proceeds through “U.S.-controlled” accounts before the funds are “disbursed…at the discretion of the U.S. government,” despite providing no details about which institutions are involved, the accounts at issue, or the terms by which the Administration would exercise its claimed “discretion.”

“The fact sheet failed to provide any information about which banks would house such U.S. controlled accounts, how the banks would ‘execute and provide financial support’ for oil sales, how or under what authority the Administration would exercise ‘discretion’ in spending the proceeds of sales of Venezuela’s oil,” wrote the Senators.

President Trump has repeatedly claimed he has control over Venezuelan oil revenues, but Administration officials have issued conflicting statements about where the funds would be held, raising concerns about transparency, legality, and oversight.

“[I]t appears that at least a portion of the oil proceeds will be held in the U.S. Treasury despite being the sovereign property of another country. It is unclear whether and to what extent the Administration still plans to direct some proceeds of oil sales into accounts held at banks in the private sector,” wrote the Senators. “Given that rapidly evolving situation and the Administration’s failure to provide clarity on its plans for Venezuela’s oil and the funds raised from oil sales, we write to you to seek answers to the following questions.”

The Senators asked banks to disclose:

Whether they were contacted by Trump Administration officials about becoming involved inVenezuelan oil sales or handling the proceeds;
Whether they were engaged to provide financial or other support for oil sales;
Whether they are holding — or plan to hold — proceeds from Venezuelan oil sales in U.S.-controlled accounts, and who owns those funds; and
All communications with Administration officials related to Venezuelan oil, Venezuela sanctions, or U.S. military engagement in Venezuela.

In addition to written responses no later than January 29, 2026, the Senators also requested ongoing monthly document production, underscoring that this is an active and continuing investigation.

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