Reuters: The man at the center of an investigation roiling Venezuela's unofficial currency market has been arrested on money laundering charges in the United States. Rama Vyasulu was arrested by a US drug agent on Wednesday and hauled before a magistrate judge for an initial appearance in US federal court in Miami on Thursday, according to court documents obtained by Reuters.

Traders on Venezuela's unofficial currency market said the Miami-based company Rosemont Finance Corp, incorporated by Vyasulu in 2005, controlled a bank account widely used for unofficial foreign exchange transactions in which companies and investors skirt the Venezuelan government's fixed bolivar exchange rate.

The "umbrella account" at Bank of America Research, as well as various sub-accounts, was frozen by US authorities on Wednesday after it was linked to suspicious activity, largely halting trade on Venezuela's unofficial, or parallel, foreign exchange market. The Venezuelan government of President Hugo Chavez fixes the bolivar at 2.15 per dollar. On the parallel market, the dollar now trades near 6 bolivars.  The parallel rate is often seen as an indicator of political risk in Venezuela.

Representatives of both the Drug Enforcement Administration and Bank of America have declined to comment on the case and a lawyer for Vyasulu, could not be reached for immediate comment.  He is next scheduled to appear in Miami federal court for a detention hearing on April 4.

In a statement issued on Friday, Rosemont said its US legal representatives had been in court in Miami on Thursday for a hearing involving "one of its officials." The charges against the official involve "the individual acts of one particular person involving a very limited number of transactions," the statement said. It did not mention Vyasulu by name. Cesar Venegas, an employee in Rosemont's compliance department, said the company was not commenting on the case beyond what it said in the statement.

The grand jury indictment against Vyasulu, which was filed in Boston on March 18, charges him with attempting "to conceal and disguise" money laundering activities between Nov. 25 and Dec. 3 of last year.

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