Millions of barrels of Russian fuel are entering the EU bypassing sanctions after a label change in Turkey.
The European Office for the Prevention of Abuse and Fraud (OLAF) has launched an investigation into a fraudulent scheme that allows countries such as Turkey to export sanctioned Russian oil to the EU under a different brand. Politico reported this on Tuesday, November 5, citing two sources.
Politico previously discovered that millions of barrels of Russian fuel were entering the EU bypassing sanctions after a label change in Turkey.
The scheme was made possible thanks to a workaround to the Brussels sanctions, which allowed the import of “mixed” fuel into the EU if it was labeled “non-Russian”.
According to the investigation, the loophole brought Moscow an additional 3 billion euros from three Turkish ports only 12 months after the introduction of sanctions against Russian oil imports in 2023.
According to the publication, this exercise shows the ways in which Russia evades EU sanctions, which provide almost half of the Kremlin’s income.
Also, the investigation is now taking place against the backdrop of deteriorating relations between Brussels and Ankara due to its Russian initiatives.
So far, OLAF has not commented on the investigation.
We remind you that British Foreign Secretary David Cameron proposed to “hunt down” the “ghost fleet” illegally transporting oil from the Russian Federation.
It was earlier reported that India’s oil imports from Russia rose in May to a record 2.1 million barrels per day, linked to a drop in Chinese demand for Russian oil.
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Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.