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Venezuela's PDVSA Refutes Reports of Gazprombank Freeze on Company Accounts

© AFP 2023 / Juan Barreto Venezuela's oil company PDVSA
Venezuela's oil company PDVSA - Sputnik International
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MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA has refuted Sunday reports about the alleged freezing of the company's accounts by Russia's Gazprombank.

Earlier in the day, Reuters reported that Gazprombank had frozen PDVSA's accounts and suspend its transactions so as to reduce possible risks associated with US sanctions.   

"PDVSA refutes malicious reports, the purpose of which is to mislead the Venezuelan people, this is a lie," the company said on Twitter, posting screenshots of reports about the freezing of its accounts.     

"PDVSA denies the media and its owners the right to violate our main oil industry, this [accusation] is a lie," another twit says

Gazprombank has as yet not commented on the Reuters report. 

READ MORE: Venezuelan Supreme Court Annuls Opposition's PDVSA, Citgo Board Appointments

On January 28, the United States blocked $7 billion in PDVSA assets in its jurisdiction and imposed a ban on deals with the entity as part of an effort to facilitate a power transfer in Caracas. US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin claimed to reporters that by blocking PDVSA assets the US was taking care of the company "in the interests of the Venezuelan people".

Storage tanks stand in a PDVSA state-run oil company crude oil complex near El Tigre, a town located within Venezuela's Hugo Chavez oil belt, formally known as the Orinoco Belt - Sputnik International
Oil Market to Lose Almost Third of Venezuelan Crude due to US Sanctions - Report
Caracas has slammed the move as unlawful and accused Washington of seeking to get its hands on Venezuelan oil reserves.

On 23 January, the political crisis in Venezuela took a new turn when the speaker of the opposition-led Venezuelan National Assembly, Juan Guaido, declared himself interim president. Guaido's declaration was almost immediately recognized by the United States and some of its allies. EU member states were expected to issue a joint statement recognizing Guaido, but Italy vetoed the motion, according to a Sputnik source.   

Russia, along with China, Mexico, Turkey, Uruguay and several other countries, has voiced support for Nicolas Maduro as the legitimate president of Venezuela.  

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