Report: Russia behind Venezuela's cryptocurrency

The details: An unnamed Russian state bank executive, who handles cryptocurrencies matters, said senior government advisers have overseen the Venezuela plan, which President Vladimir Putin signed off on last year.

• TIME also reports that Maduro’s Russian advisers, Denis Druzhkov and Fyodor Bogorodsky, who both have major ties to Russian banks and billionaires, were at the launch of the digital currency last month.

The Russian government denied TIME's report, with the Finance Ministry saying none of Russia's financial authorities were involved in the petro's creation. Venezuelan officials did not respond to a request for comment.

Go deeper with the TIME investigation.