The U.S. Treasury Department on Monday added Moscow-based Evrofinance Mosnarbank to its sanction list, alleging the bank has attempted to evade U.S. sanctions on Venezuela. The latest action comes as the U.S. escalates the use of sanctions on the Nicolás Maduro regime, which the U.S. has accused of human-rights abuses. Evrofinance was founded as a binational bank to fund joint Russia-Venezuela oil and infrastructure projects, according to the Treasury. Venezuela’s National Development Fund, also known as Fonden, owns just shy of 50% of Evrofinance, according to the Treasury. Early investors in Petro were invited to buy the cryptocurrency by wiring funds to a Venezuelan government account at Evrofinance, according to the department.

Source: Wall Street Journal March 11, 2019 20:03 UTC