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3/19/2020

Treasury Targets Russian Oil Brokerage Firm for Supporting Illegitimate Maduro Regime | U.S. Department of the Treasury

Treasury Targets Russian Oil Brokerage Firm for Supporting
Illegitimate Maduro Regime
February 18, 2020

Washington – The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s O ice of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)
today designated Rosne Trading S.A., the Swiss-incorporated, Russian-controlled oil brokerage
firm pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13850, as amended, for operating in the oil sector of the
Venezuelan economy. OFAC also designated the chairman of the board of directors and
president of Rosne Trading S.A., Didier Casimiro, for purporting to act for or on behalf of,
directly or indirectly, Rosne Trading S.A.
“Rosne Trading S.A. and its president brokered the sale and transport of Venezuelan crude oil,”
said Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin. “The United States is determined to prevent the looting of
Venezuela’s oil assets by the corrupt Maduro regime.”
Rosne Trading S.A. is a subsidiary of the Russian state-controlled global energy giant Rosne
Oil Company. Registered in the Canton of Geneva, Switzerland as a trading company in January
2011, Rosne Trading S.A. was created to assist Rosne Oil Company in carrying out its foreign
projects. The core activities of Rosne Trading S.A. are marketing and distribution, including the
trading, processing, and transport of raw materials, in particular unrefined petroleum and
petroleum products. Separate from today’s action, OFAC previously identified Rosne Oil
Company as operating in the energy sector of the Russian Federation pursuant to
Ukraine-/Russia-related Executive Order 13662, and both Rosne Oil Company and Rosne
Trading S.A. were already subject to certain restrictions under Ukraine-/Russia-related Directives
2 and 4.
Didier Casimiro is the chairman of the board of directors and president with sole signing
authority of Rosne Trading S.A. Casimiro has held meetings with Petroleos de Venezuela
(PdVSA) o icials that have involved assessing projects and opportunities to strengthen strategic
relationships for Rosne Trading S.A. with PdVSA.

RECENT ROSNEFT TRADING S.A. ACTIVITY:
https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sm909

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3/19/2020

Treasury Targets Russian Oil Brokerage Firm for Supporting Illegitimate Maduro Regime | U.S. Department of the Treasury

In January 2020, Rosne Trading S.A. facilitated, on behalf of PdVSA, a shipment of two
million barrels of Merey-16 crude oil from Venezuela to West Africa.
In the fall of 2019, PdVSA planned oil shipments with Rosne Trading S.A. involving 55
million barrels of crude oil li ings from September to December 2019.
In September 2019, PdVSA supplied a shipment of one million barrels of Merey-16 to Rosne
Trading S.A., which was loaded on a vessel in Venezuela and destined for Asia.
In August 2019, Rosne Trading S.A. negotiated a shipment of two million barrels of
Venezuelan crude oil with PdVSA and was able to find a vessel willing to transport the cargo
despite di iculties that came with doing business in Venezuela.
As with previous OFAC designations, U.S. sanctions need not be permanent and are intended to
change behavior. The United States has made it clear that we will consider li ing sanctions for
those who take concrete, meaningful, and verifiable actions to support democratic order in
Venezuela.
Concurrent with this action, OFAC is issuing a general license that authorizes certain
transactions and activities that are ordinarily incident and necessary to the wind down of
transactions involving Rosne Trading S.A.
As a result of today’s action, all property and interests in property of Rosne Trading S.A. and
Didier Casimiro that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons, and
of any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, 50 percent or more by the designated
individual and entity, are blocked and must be reported to OFAC.
Identifying information on the entity and individual designated today.
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https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sm909

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