Indian Foreign Ministry Has No Data On Venezuela Opening New Bank Accounts - Source

India has no information on whether Venezuelan companies have opened accounts in India at the request of Caracas, a source in the Indian Foreign Ministry told Sputnik on Friday

NEW DELHI (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd February, 2019) India has no information on whether Venezuelan companies have opened accounts in India at the request of Caracas, a source in the Indian Foreign Ministry told Sputnik on Friday.

On Wednesday, the Bloomberg news agency reported, citing sources, that the Venezuelan government led by President Nicolas Maduro had requested local executives at a special meeting to open new bank accounts in India, China, Turkey and Russia and start building ties with suppliers in the mentioned countries.

"We have got no information on this issue so far. Neither have we received any official request from anyone," the source said, referring to the reports on the Venezuelan companies opening bank accounts in India.

Indian leading banks, such as ICICI and Punjab National Bank, have refused to disclose information about the accounts of their clients to Sputnik.

The United States has blocked around $7 billion in assets belonging to Venezuela's state oil firm PDVSA and began transferring control over them to Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, who on January 23 proclaimed himself as Venezuela's interim president.

Maduro, backed by China, Mexico and Russia, accused Guaido of acting at the instructions of the United States and claimed that Washington was plotting together with the opponents of his government to overthrow him and get hold of Venezuela's oil assets.