Reports: EU bought €1.1billion in Russian oil through second-hand purchases in 2023 | DW News

The US and EU have imposed sanctions on Russia to hinder its ability to fund the war in Ukraine but a new report points out a major loophole the report by Rights group global witness says the Kremlin is making money from secondhand purchases of refined oil by the EU

That’s despite an EU ban on oil imports from Russia as part of its sanctions program DW’s Brussels correspondent Jack parck has the story oil tankers like these are still bringing Russian oil into the EU and it earned the Kremlin 1.1 billion e last year according to a new report by the

NGO Global witness a legal loophole is allowing Russia to sell its oil in the EU despite of sanctions ban against Imports countries which haven’t imposed sanctions on Russian oil are able to import millions of barrels of Russian crude oil they refine them in those countries and at the point that they’ve

Become a refined product like fuel or diesel it’s no longer considered Russian and so this fuel is freely imported into the European Union they followed oil tanker movements and delved into publicly available Russian tax revenue information in their research the oil is mainly coming through India and turkey

But also Bulgaria which is actually inside the EU when the EU brought in the sanctions on refined petroleum products in February 2023 they did so with limited exceptions one of those exceptions being to allow Bulgaria to continue to import refined oil in order to prevent a major economic

Hit to the eu’s poorest nation in a statement to DW the European commission acknowledged the loophole we do not prohibit the import of refined petroleum products from third countries which do not have a Russian origin because of the refining process they said the 1.1 billion EUR in oil sales is the

Equivalent of NATO’s recent pledge to spend on ammunition for Ukraine and member states stockpiles and on the other side it buys Russia around 1200 cruise missiles the type it’s been using to strike Targets in Ukraine for two years now DW Brussels correspondent Jack parck filed that report I asked him earlier

Whether the EU is going to do anything about closing this legal loophole it doesn’t look so the main thing that they can do is try and end this derogation for Bulgaria which allows Bulgaria to continue to purchase oil uh it was set out in order to sort

Of prevent a real big shock in the Bulgarian economy we’ve been pressing and indeed many journalists have been pressing the European commission for many months about this derogation that Bulgaria has as yet that remains unchanged

The US and EU have imposed sanctions on Russia to hinder its ability to fund the war in Ukraine. But a new report points out a major loophole that still allows Russia to make money off the EU through oil sales. DW’s Brussels correspondent Jack Parrock has the story.

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50 comments

  4. They know this is happening but they want to appear like they're not buying directly. Also they're laying higher prices making their economies less competitive 😅

  6. From raw materials to final product to tech products providence is never verified that loophole is allowing russia to generate revenue.

  7. The US emerged as a top destination for refined petroleum products from India in November, much of it processed from Russian crude oil imported at a discount.

    According to data from the commerce ministry, Russia exported crude oil worth $3.08 billion in November to India, making it the second-largest exporter to India after Saudi Arabia.

    Meanwhile, the US imported oil products worth $588 million in November, raising imports to the highest levels this fiscal.

    Experts said that the imports increased amid the high demand for crude ahead of the US holiday season.

    The US has imported $3.62 billion worth of petroleum products in the eight months to 30 November, a 23% increase from the previous year and the highest in the past five years.

    Europe’s November imports of petroleum products from India also showed significant changes, with the UK, Spain and Romania significantly reducing imports from India, while Portugal, Belgium, and Italy increased imports by 1,600, 535, and 17 times, respectively. The Netherlands, a hub for oil storage, imported 45% more petroleum products compared to October.

  9. These NGOs had their pockets fuelled by their puppet master and has no concern form the common people in the streets (of Europe). Without these grey imports, what wil be the energy cost inflation? Why do we have to pay for a conflict that is hundreds if not thousands of miles away?

  10. Wouldn't it be better for EU to continue to have a better relationship with their own immediate neighbours rather than sacrifice their independence and economic prosperity for the sake of US hegemony?

  12. That's not totally bad. ruzzia sell it's oil cheap and EU buys the refined products, again, cheap, supporting it's economy. ruzzia is still a loser in this deal because they could be making alot more money with this oil they're now selling at a huge discount.
    ruzzia is just big gas station disguised as a country. I wonder how will their cocked up economy be in 10-20-30 years when hydrocarbon markets are getting smaller and smaller? Would suck to be a ruzzkie, but then again, ruzzkies that are going to witness that are the lucky ones. The not-so-lucky ones will be fertilizing sun flowers in Ukraine.

  17. No, we don't buy oil from Russia for $100. We only buy Russian oil from a 3rd country for $200. It is not about the price. It is about do the right thing. 😎

  22. Because they can’t see the wood for the trees, typical eu mess. The people that created this are the cream of Europe, the best minds it has to offer, unelected and unaccountable they will retire on a salary linked pension and live in luxury and continue the EU 40 year tradition of pigs at the trough.

  25. How do people expect the war to end? If they keep sponsoring it? The money is more important than freedom for these greedy SOBs

  27. Did excellent jobs. America bought via India. Shame to all these countries. If they bought Russian oil, how did economic pressure was imposed?
    FOOL western countries.

  30. With such a large transactions are we to believe No Buyers ask the Seller from where is the source of these oil came from especially since the ban on Russian oil is in place for the last 2-3 years? In my opinion, these loop holes are self created to serve the purpose it is intended by politicians to allow them to talk tough about banning Russian oil but in reality it’s entirely for the opposite. Kinda of hypocritical don’t you think? Them sellers must be having a laugh. So the real question for DW is, why waste time on all these bureaucracies unless it serve another purpose?

  39. |ndia is the only country that profited heavily from this war.

    1) Was Russia sanctioned and Russian oil boycotted? Yes.

    2) Did |ndia miraculously became Europe's largest oil supplier since the Ukraine war? Yes.

    3) How did |ndia became Europe's largest oil supplier? Did |ndia bought heavily discounted oil from Russia and resold it to Europe at a massive profit while adding no value to European consumers? Yes.

    4) Was Europeans scammed by |ndia? Yes.

    🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔

  40. Before 3 years we india was the largest importer of petroleum products and saudi was largest exporter of crude oil..
    Thanks to you guys now saudi is importing diesel cause its cheaper , and india is exporting diesel to the world 😂

  41. West be like-

    When india was buying russian oil : “how dare you😡”

    When EU is buying russian oil: “its a loophole🥰”

  42. Why is EU and US not sanctioning Israel for doing the same thing that Russia is doing? In fact, Israel has done worse than Russia.

  47. Why EU is buying oil from India per se ? It costs less than the refined products they get from their own refiners . So they buy from India to keep price of basket of refined products at managable limit. Do the EU have the necessary refining capacity to fulfill their needs.Yes .
    India does not need any private players to fulfill its own needs its govt controlled company are sufficient.Private refiners in India have humongous refining so do the refiners of China. Their operating margin are incomparable to anyone on this planet.
    Arab producer also need these companies they buy their crude, maintain their refineries,supply the country with refined products while the rwfineries are under shutdown.
    Indian govt needs these refiners when crude cost is too high. G ovt owned companies are compensated but private refiners are not during time of high crude oil price.Govt also need these companies when thw oil price is too low .They hep the govt to fill India stategic reserves during those times.
    So though India does not produce its own crude oil owing to the mix of refiners both private and govt controlled refiner it able to have leverage with most oil producer counties including US.

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