Rosneft Says US Sanctions On RTSA Illegal

(Rosneft, 18.Feb.2020) — The sanctions announced by the U.S. Treasury Department against Rosneft’s subsidiary RTSA and its Chairman are illegal, unjustified, and an act of legal abuse.

Rosneft has been implementing its projects in Venezuela in strict compliance with rules of international and national laws. In the course of the projects’ implementation, the Company conducts exclusively commercial activities for the benefit of its shareholders and does not pursue political goals.

Rosneft had become a major investor in Venezuela’s economy long before the U.S. introduced the sanctions. The Company’s operations in Venezuela are related to the implementation of production projects and trading (prepaid oil supplies and counter deliveries of petroleum products), carried out within the framework of contracts signed before sanctions were imposed, and are aimed at ensuring the return of the previously made investments and the realisation of its long-term commercial interests.

Thus, the Company does not violate the illegal restrictions imposed by the U.S., which has been repeatedly recognised by the American regulator.

The sanctions against RTSA are arbitrary and selective, as other international companies, including American ones, carry out similar activities in Venezuela, and the U.S. regulator does not claim them.

At the same time, the U.S. Treasury Department has not provided any evidence of illegal activities of the Company, as well as of any violation of the unilateral restrictions imposed by the U.S.

The Company is to consider options for its legal protection upon reviewing the documents published.

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