The EU explained its move by saying that Geneva-based company Paramount Energy & Commodities SA transferred transactions for the trading of Russian oil to its Dubai subsidiary, which in turn traded oil at a price above $60 a barrel. .
For the first time, the European Union imposed sanctions against a European for trading Russian oil above the price ceiling. This was reported by the Financial Times on Tuesday, December 17.
For the first time, the European Union has imposed sanctions on a European for violating oil price restrictions from the Russian Federation. Oil businessman Nils Trost, a Dutch citizen living in Switzerland, was punished. Swiss authorities are also investigating his company.
The EU explained its move by the fact that Trost’s Geneva company Paramount Energy & Commodities SA in June 2022 transferred Russian oil trading transactions to the Dubai subsidiary of Paramount Energy & Commodities DMCC. The Dubai company “regularly traded Russian oil” at prices above $60 per barrel.
In December 2022, Western countries introduced restrictions on Russian oil: it can be sold using the services of Western insurers and financial institutions only at a price not exceeding $60 per barrel. At the same time, Paramount’s Dubai subsidiary continued to sell ESPO grade oil, which, unlike the main Urals grade, traded above $60 most of the time after the ceiling was introduced.
As Trost told the Financial Times, his lawyers ensured that subsidiaries in the UAE would not have to comply with EU sanctions if the European parent company was not involved in their operations. That is why he and Paramount SA distanced themselves from the activities of Paramount DMCC. Trost also said the sanctions were related to the intrigues of his former business partner Gaurav Kumar Srivastavi, with whom he had a dispute.
Let’s recall that the US presidential administration has promised new powerful sanctions aimed at those who contribute to the Kremlin’s military machine.
Source: korrespondent
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