A recent source from PDVSA has shared puzzling information regarding the operations of Petrozamora, a joint venture between the Venezuelan Petroleum Corporation (CVP) and Gazprombank Latin America Ventures B.V., a facade based in Amsterdam controlled by Boris Ivanov, Christophe Gerard, Francisco Convit, and Orlando Alvarado. Email exchanges related to Petrozamora’s operations, seen by this site, include a previously unknown name: Vladimir Anisimov, identified elsewhere as a former deputy director of the FSB and chief of security for oligarch Igor Kesaev, who has past connections with Gazprom.
This site revealed the news about Derwick Associates’ connection to Petrozamora through Gazprombank Latin America Ventures. Rafael Ramírez approved and personally signed the deal during a public presentation with Ivanov, but failed to disclose that the thugs from Derwick were part of it (see the pdf below). Convit is the UBO of Derwick Associates and Derwick Oil & Gas. He has been accused and declared a fugitive by the U.S. Department of Justice for his involvement in a $1.2 billion money laundering scandal centered on PDVSA. This isn’t the only money laundering scheme involving Convit and Alejandro Betancourt. Alvarado is the CFO of Derwick and other shell entities (O’Hara Management) used by Convit and Betancourt to launder some of their ill-gotten funds.
Ivanov and Gerard functioned as the representatives of Gazprom/Gazprombank in the deal. Of course, there are others involved, such as Igor Gitman, described on PDVSA’s website as “Commercial Director of Gazprombank.”
Petrozamora is supposed to have become the main crude oil supplier for Nynas. PDVSA holds a 50% stake in the Swedish Nynas.
However, Vladimir Anisimov is not someone this site has encountered before in the context of Venezuelan-Russian energy business. Could this just be a coincidence, or could it be that one of Putin’s favored oligarchs (Kesaev) positioned his trusted former Deputy of Internal Security of the FSB (“FSB within the FSB”) in a strategic role to oversee his interests in Venezuela?
Two days ago, this site reported on the new role that Gazprombank Latin America Ventures would supposedly undertake in relation to PDVSA’s receivables following Treasury sanctions. It is clear that through the alleged setup with VTB Bank, Convit, Betancourt, Ivanov and company are mocking the U.S. government’s sanctions regime against Nicolás Maduro and Putin-controlled companies. While Gazprom, Gazprombank, and VTB Bank were already sanctioned as part of U.S. measures against the annexation of Ukraine in 2014, links to Venezuela (through shareholding in Evrofinance Mosbarbank and Petrozamora) seem to have escaped Treasury officials.
To further obfuscate matters, Reuters published a piece (March 14, 2019), stating that a source from Gazprombank had informed that “its indirect stake” in Petrozamora had been sold to “a group of investors with no connection to the Gazprombank group.” And yet, Igor Gitman continues to be copied on emails, along with Anisimov. Why would Gazprombank and the former FSB be kept in the loop if Gazprombank had “sold” its stake in Petrozamora?