(Energy Analytics Institute, 19.Jan.2021) — US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control, or OFAC, slapped sanctions on three individuals, 16 companies and seven vessels for their alleged ties to networks trying to evade US sanctions imposed on Venezuela’s oil sector.
The individuals targeted included Philipp Apikian, Alessandro Bazzoni, Francisco D’Agostino, while the listed entities spanned from Element Capital Advisors Ltd. and Elemento Solutions Ltd. to Swissoil Trading SA with global addresses in major cities from New York, Verona, and Geneva to London.
Vessels sanctioned by OFAC include Fortuna and Freedom, among others, Treasury announced Jan. 19 in an official update on its website.
Washington initially imposed sanctions on Venezuela in early 2019 with an aim to bring down the Opec country’s oil sector, which was thought to quickly lead to the eventual departure of Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro.
The US continues to expand its sanctions net as the South American leader continues to cling to power even as the Venezuelan economy continues to struggle and the humanitarian crisis worsens, with some 5.3 to 5.4 million citizens said to have left the country, according to recent comments from opposition leader Juan Guaido during a webinar last week.
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By Piero Stewart. © Energy Analytics Institute (EAI). All Rights Reserved.
