Venezuela's PDVSA Refutes Reports About Russia's Gazprombank Freezing Company's Accounts

Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA has refuted on Sunday reports about alleged freezing of the company's accounts by Russia's Gazprombank

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th February, 2019) Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA has refuted on Sunday reports about alleged freezing of the company's accounts by Russia's Gazprombank.

Earlier in the day, Reuters reported that Gazprombank had decided to freeze PDVSA's accounts and suspend its transactions in order 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.

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 efforts to facilitate a power transfer. US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told reporters that by blocking PDVSA assets, the United States was taking care of this company in the interests of the Venezuelan people. Caracas has slammed the move as unlawful and accused Washington of seeking to get its hands on Venezuelan oil reserves.