US sanctions Russian bank over petro financing
The Trump government increases the pressure on Nicolás Maduro and imposes new regulations on a financial entity jointly owned by Russia and Venezuela
The United States government incorporated a Moscow-based financial institution called Evrofinance Mosnarbank into its blacklist. The bank was created in 2011 jointly between Vladimir Putin and former Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.
According to what was published in Bloomberg, the Development Bank of Venezuela is the owner of half of the entity. Tthe remaining 50 percent is divided between the VTB group and the Gazprombank.
Both entities, VTB and Gazprombank, were sanctioned by the United States in 2014. These institutions are linked to the Venezuelan government in collaboration with the state oil company Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), which also faces US government regulations.
The statement from the Treasury Department, regarding the petro expressed: “When the failed Venezuelan cryptocurrency, called petro, was launched in 2018, Evrofinance emerged as the main international financial institution willing to finance petro. The participation of Evrofinance in the petro demonstrated Maduro’s hope that the petro would allow Venezuela to avoid the financial sanctions of the United States.”
It should be noted that Evrofinance grew as a business by 50 percent during 2018. In contrast to the precarious and complex situation of scarcity that exists in Venezuela.
L.Sáenz
Source: Coincrispy
