Venezuelan arrests for embezzling China funds

Five Venezuelan officials have been arrested and charged with embezzling US$84 million from a China-backed development fund that is managed by a state-run bank in the South American country, Reuters reported. President Nicolas Maduro made the announcement in a televised broadcast on Monday that the five were captured in a raid. Venezuela has received at least US$36 billion in loans from China, which have gone toward infrastructure projects in the country. Maduro did not specify which of the funds were involved in his televised broadcast, although he vowed a united front in stamping out corruption.