In a novel and aggressive move likely aimed at garnering goodwill with federal regulators, Venezuelan state-owned entity CITGO Petroleum Company (“CITGO”) has sued its former agent for harm CITGO alleges was caused by the agent’s payment of bribes to foreign officials. The twist? The bribes were paid to CITGO’s own employees, who are considered foreign officials under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (“FCPA”). By Michael Hoosier, Brian Howard II, Ephraim (Fry) Wernick. Full Text -> JDSupra

The lawsuit accuses José Manuel González and his Miami-based Petroleum Logistics Service Corp. of providing gifts including cash, jewelry, private artwork, chartered flights and even a handpicked Houston apartment to senior executives at Citgo. In exchange, officials paid González $20 million between 2014 and 2018 to provide goods and services to Citgo’s parent company, PDVSA, at inflated prices. By Joshua Goodman. Full Text-> AP

“We completed this extraordinary round of our Small Grants COVID 19 program in record timing, thanks to the quick response we received from charitable organizations from the Venezuelan diaspora. Their willingness to help address these health-related challenges speaks volumes about their continued commitment to Venezuelans in need, and we are sure these projects will make a significant difference in the fight against the pandemic and beyond,” said Mariela Poleo, president of the Simón Bolívar Foundation.  Full Text -> Yahoo! Finance

The U.S. Supreme Court rejected an appeal by Venezuela in its fight to retain control of oil refiner Citgo Holding Inc., putting the country a step closer to losing its largest asset. The justices, without comment on Monday, left intact a federal appeals court victory for a defunct Canadian gold mining company seeking to force the sale of Citgo’s parent company. The gold miner, Crystallex International Corp., is trying to collect a $1.4 billion arbitration award, most of which remains unpaid. Full Text-> Yahoo!Finance

A United States federal appeals court rejected an appeal by Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) to overturn an order issued by a Delaware court allowing the Canadian transnational mining company Crystallex International Corp. to seize shares in the refining unit. of PDVSA in the United States, Citgo Petroleum Corp. Full Text -> Explica

Citgo weighs insurance claim over seized crude oil cargo. Cargo returns to Venezuela this week after floating for a year.By David Wethe and Lucia Kassai. Full text -> Bloomberg

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 Venezuela’s state-run oil company PDVSA this week plans to discharge nearly 1 million barrels of crude stranded for over a year at sea over U.S. sanctions against the company and an ownership dispute with its refining unit, Citgo Petroleum, according to internal documents viewed by Reuters.. By Marianna Parraga. Full Text -> Yahoo Finance

Venezuelan police have seized executives of U.S. refiner Citgo who were under house arrest in the South American nation, two family members of the men said, hours after U.S. President Donald Trump met with opposition leader Juan Guaido. Full text-> Investing.com

A U.S. federal appeals court on Monday rejected an appeal by Venezuela’s state-owned oil company to set aside an order allowing a Canadian gold mining company to seize shares in its U.S. refining unit, Citgo Petroleum Corp. By Jonathan Stempel and Luc Cohen. Full text -> Reuters 

Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro’s administration has not budged under a year of US sanctions targeting the Opec member’s oil industry, but the halt in shipments from the third-largest source of heavy crude for the US reshaped trade flows to complex refineries. Full text-> Argus