The Strategist

Reuters: FBI is investigating EU, Mexican companies involved in Venezuelan oil trade



05/14/2020 - 03:38



Reuters, citing sources, reported that the FBI commenced an investigation against companies from Mexico and the EU allegedly involved in the Venezuelan oil trade as part of gathering information for the US Treasury about a possible violation of sanctions.



Wilfredor
Wilfredor
"Three FBI informants said on condition of anonymity that the bureau is investigating three Mexican companies - Libre Abordo, Schlager Business Group and Grupo Jomadi Logistics & Cargo," the statement reads.

Information about the participation of the Mexican company Libre Abordo in the Venezuelan oil-for-food exchange scheme appeared in March, but the company did not respond to a written request for comments from RIA Novosti about the details of this scheme and possible US sanctions.

In Europe, according to Reuters’ interlocutors, there are two oil traders who had experience working with Venezuelan oil or selling fuel for PDVSA: Elemento Ltd and Swissoil Trading SA. Now, they have come to the attention of the FBI.

Earlier this year, Venezuela filed a complaint with the Hague Tribunal regarding the restrictions that the United States has imposed on the country since 2014. The United States imposed a set of sanctions against Venezuela, the most painful of which were freezing the country's accounts in Europe and blocking the assets and interests of the oil and gas PDVSA in the US jurisdiction for $ 7 billion, as well as prohibiting transactions with them. According to the White House’s calculations made before the COVID pandemic and the oil crisis, another $11 billion dollars would make up losses in oil supplies.

source: reuters.com