Recently, Venezuela’s national oil company PDVSA filed a lawsuit against several oil trading companies through the U.S. trust fund, stating that traders participate in a multi-billion-dollar corruption plan and purchase petroleum products at prices below market value.

The lawsuit alleges that a small company called Helsinge obtained bribery information and bidding procedures by bribing PDVSA officials including the current vice president Ysmel Serrano. Bribery involves billions of dollars in illegal proceeds.

Helsinge also provided internal information to a number of trading companies, including Lukoil, Colonial Oi1 Industries, Glencore, Victor and Dutch Toke. The lawsuit claims that these companies are "oil company complicators" and have benefited from bribery.

Serrano, Helsinge and other oil companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Prior to this lawsuit, a number of PDVSA employees were recently imprisoned. This is part of the so-called anti-corruption campaign of President Nicholas Maduro, but critics believe that this is a factional struggle among corrupt elites.

"I think this lawsuit shows that PDVSA and the Republic of Venezuela are now ready to fight corruption, no matter who they are involved in," said David Boys, chairman of Boyes-Schiele Law Firm.

Boyce stated that the lawsuit was filed by an organization named "PDVSA American Litigation Trust Fund." The organization will sue those accused of participating in bribery programs.