Venezuela is being kept afloat by hundreds of millions of dollars shipped from Russia, reports suggest, as it struggles to survive crippling US sanctions.

A total of $315 million (£245 million) in dollar and euro notes were sent in six separate shipments from Moscow to Caracas from May 2018 to April 2019, according to data from ImportGenius, which compiled Russian customs records obtained through private sources. The data was reviewed by Bloomberg.

The cash came from lenders run by the countries’ governments, and went to Venezuela’s development bank.

The most recent transaction recorded took place in April and consisted of $97 million in notes, which was sent in two loads from Moscow-based Evrofinance Mosnarbank to Venezuela’s development bank, Bandes.

Evrofinance is a joint venture between Bandes and Russia’s state property management agency.