Gold Reserve Announces Blocking of Trust Account Held at Venezuelan Bank

Gold Reserve Inc. (TSX.V: GRZ) (OTCQX: GDRZF) (“Gold Reserve” or the “Company”) reports that a trust account at Bandes Bank in Venezuela that holds approximately $21.5 million of the Company’s funds has been blocked by the US Government under new US sanctions targeting certain Venezuelan financial institutions. On March 22, 2019, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Controls (“OFAC”) designated Bandes Bank as a Specially Designated National (“SDN”) pursuant to Executive Order 13850. The trust account at Bandes Bank is held by Gold Reserve’s US subsidiary, Gold Reserve Corporation. As a result of the SDN designation of Bandes Bank, property in which an SDN has an interest and that is in the control or possession of a US Person such as Gold Reserve Corporation must be blocked and reported to OFAC. Gold Reserve is treating the Bandes Bank trust account as blocked property and will report the trust account and the funds therein as blocked property to OFAC as required by applicable regulations. More…