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The United States has imposed sanctions on two companies transporting Russian oil, the first time it has imposed measures aimed at cutting off the Kremlin’s revenue as it continues its sweeping invasion of Ukraine.
The U.S. Treasury Department said on Thursday that the two companies, based in the United Arab Emirates and Turkey, violated G7 country rules by using U.S. shipping services while transporting Russian crude purchased for more than $60 a barrel. oil price ceiling. Moscow last year.
The enforcement measures come amid broader efforts by G7 countries to limit the flow of petrodollars to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war chest. The organization issued a statement on Thursday outlining the risks of “violating” price cap rules.
“Today’s actions demonstrate our continued commitment to reducing Russia’s resources for its war in Ukraine and enforcing price caps,” said U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo.
The new sanctions come as Joe Biden’s administration seeks to pressure the Kremlin over its war in Ukraine and expresses disapproval after Congress recently omitted more funding for the country in a stopgap spending measure. Kiev support.
A senior finance ministry official said the Kremlin’s oil tax revenue fell 45% from January to August this year compared with the same period in 2022. But Moscow has increasingly circumvented sanctions on much of its oil exports, with nearly three-quarters of Russian crude shipped to Russia. Travel without Western insurance in August.
Rising oil prices have also helped Russia in recent months, with Brent crude rising by more than a third between June and September to nearly $100 a barrel, only to fall again in recent weeks.
The U.S. Treasury Department said it had imposed sanctions on UAE-based Lumber Marine for using its SCF Primorye vessels to transport Russian crude purchased for more than $75 a barrel. It also sanctioned Turkey’s Ice Pearl Navigation Co., whose Yasa Golden Bosphorus vessel handles Russian crude purchased for more than $80 a barrel. Both companies use U.S. service providers when transporting oil.
Turkey’s Asa Holdings, which manages the Asakin Bosphorus, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Ship tracking data shows that Exxon Mobil recently chartered the vessel, which is currently off the coast of Florida en route to Houston to collect a cargo of crude oil from Canada on October 5. ExxonMobil did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
According to official records, SCF Primorye is managed by Sun Ship Management, a Dubai-based company already subject to EU and UK sanctions for being part of the state-backed Russian tanker fleet Sovcomflot.
The G7 statement also said that “given recent price developments” its “focus is on supporting compliance and enforcement of the (oil price cap) policy”.
“If we have evidence that a company or individual is involved in illegal or deceptive conduct related to the shipment of Russian-origin crude oil and petroleum products, we will respond in accordance with the appropriate restrictions established by alliance members,” the statement read.
Officials have acknowledged that the oil price cap needs to be strengthened, with French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire saying on Thursday that while it was the “right policy” it now needed to be “strengthened”.
“I firmly believe that the price cap is a good decision and it effectively (reduces) oil revenues from Russia,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Marrakech. But he said “loopholes” still need to be addressed.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, speaking in Marrakesh on Wednesday, stressed the need for the United States to “continue to impose tough and increasing costs on Russia and continue working to ensure that Russia pays for the damage it has caused”.
As part of that strategy, Yellen backed a European proposal to use profits generated from more than 200 billion euros of Russian assets frozen in international financial institutions to help Ukraine. Most of these funds are held in Belgium’s Euroclear, the largest clearing house in the world.
Belgium has generated significant tax revenue from profits from frozen assets and announced it would set up a 1.7 billion euro fund to use the proceeds to fund the war in Ukraine.
Additional reporting by Sam Fleming, Tom Wilson and Chris Cook
Svlook
