About $2.7 billion of refined oil from China, India and Türkiye, countries that Russia supplies crude oil to, flows into the UK in 2023.
Britain is accused of “helping Russia pay for the war in Ukraine” by continuing to import record amounts of refined oil from countries that use Russian crude oil.
Government data from environmental news site Desmog Analysis shows that the amount of refined oil that the UK imports from India, China and Türkiye will amount to 2.7 billion USD in 2023, the same increase as in 2022 and a sharp increase compared to the figure of nearly 540 million USD. in 2021. Russia is the leading supplier of crude oil to these three countries.
The US, UK and many allies have increased sanctions on Russia because of the Ukraine conflict. The British government officially banned the import of Russian oil products from December 5, 2022.
However, a legal loophole has allowed Russian oil to continue to flow into the UK despite a series of sanctions. Oil refined in another country will not be considered to originate from Russia, creating conditions for Moscow to circumvent Western sanctions. The UK-based advocacy group Global Witness accused this of being a “money laundering” process that undermined Ukraine’s anti-Russian campaign.
Oil tanker anchored at Nakhodka Bay near the port city of Nakhodka, Russia on December 4, 2022. Image: Reuters
The amount of refined oil exported from India to the UK increased significantly after the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. In 2021, the UK will only import nearly 500 million USD of refined oil from India, but this number increases to 2.2 billion USD in 2022 and about 1.8 billion USD in 2023.
Refined oil imports from China increase 20 times from 2021, from 37 million USD to more than 490 million in 2022 and about 825 million in 2023. Imports from Turkey also increase more than 30 times, from 2.2 million USD. million USD in 2021 to nearly 75 million USD in 2023.
“Millions of barrels of fuel made from Russian oil continue to pour into the UK. Last year alone, this transaction brought the Kremlin more than 100 million USD. If this loophole is not closed, the UK will help Russia cover part of the war with Ukraine,” said Lela Stanley, senior investigator at Global Witness.
Global Witness estimates that in 2023, the UK will import about 5.2 million barrels of refined oil produced from Russian crude oil, of which jet fuel accounts for the majority with 4.6 million barrels. Analysts estimate that Russian-linked fuel is used on one in 20 flights in the UK.
British government records show that direct oil imports from Russia fell from $1.8 billion in the first quarter of 2022 to zero the following year. This causes Britain to increase imports from other countries.
Britain spent about $24 billion importing oil and gas from Algeria, Bahrain, Kuwait, Libya, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE in the fiscal year to March 2023, up 60% from the previous year.
At the same time, Britain and the European Union (EU) also increased purchases of refined oil from India, China and Türkiye. Global Witness found that the EU imported 130 million barrels of refined oil from refineries using Russian crude in 2023. The group estimates these transactions could help Russia earn more than $1.1 billion.
Thanh Tam (According to Guardian)
Tags: loophole meant Britain imported millions barrels Russian oil
