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Venezuela 'swerving US sanctions by funnelling cashflow from oil sales through Russia'


The crisis-stricken South American nation has accused the US of provoking an economic war after President Donald Trump slapped tough restrictions on Venezuelan oil. The move was aimed at tightening a financial noose around Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, who the US has openly described as a dictator, in a bid to block global banks from dealing with the government. Under a new scheme uncovered by Reuters, Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA has found a way to swerve the sanctions by passing invoices from its oil sales to Russian energy company Rosneft. The Russian energy giant pays PDVSA immediately at a discount to the sale price, avoiding the usual 30 to 90 day timeframe for completing oil transactions, and collects the full amount later from the buyer, according to the documents and sources.

The documents go on to claim the Maduro administration has been in talks with allies in Moscow since January about ways to find a way around clients paying PDVSA in dollars.

Russia has in the past branded the US sanctions as illegal and said it would help Venezuela overcome them.

The latest claims mark the latest sign of dependence on Russia for Venezuela, with Moscow having previously loaned the South American country almost $16 billion since 2006, which is being repaid in oil shipments.

It has also taken significant stakes in petroleum projects, meaning it already controls a large slice of Venezuelan production.

Despite vast oil reserves, which account for more than 90 percent of exports in Venezuela, the struggling nation of 31 million people has been crippled by hyperinflation and widespread shortages of food and basic necessities.

A source told Reuters: “PDVSA is delivering its accounts receivable to Rosneft.

“The cash ends up in Russian banks or is used for settling pending payments such as marine services or freight so that oil exports are not interrupted.”

It was further claimed some of the money was flowing via Russian-Venezuelan bank Evrofinance Mosnarbank, which was placed under US sanctions last month.

PDVSA and Rosneft have been contacted for comment by Express.co.uk.

A spokesperson for Evrofinance denied such transactions had passed through the bank.

Earlier this month the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said it expects Venezuela’s gross domestic product (GDP) to plummet by 25 percent over the dent to its oil industry.

The IMF also expects a new record of inflation rising prices of around 10,000,000 percent by the end of 2019.

Last year, the GDP of Venezuela fell by 18 percent.

Since 2013, there has been a cumulative drop of 60 percent, according to a report in the ‘Global Economic Perspectives’.

The unemployment rate in Venezuela has also risen 44.3 percent this year, the report said, compared to 35 last year.

Gita Gopinath, IMF chief economist, said: “There is a huge humanitarian crisis. A socio-economic crisis.”



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