India evades sanctions on Russian crude

US sanctions prohibit import of Russian energy products


REUTERS August 14, 2022
A general view shows a local oil refinery behind residential buildings in Omsk, Russia February 10, 2021. PHOTO: REUTERS

NEW DELHI:

The United States has expressed concern to India that it was being used to export fuel made from Russian crude, through high-seas transfers to hide its origin, to New York in violation of US sanctions, a top Indian central banker said on Saturday.

The US Treasury Department told India that an Indian ship picked up oil from a Russian tanker on the high seas and brought it to a port in Gujarat on the west coast, where it was refined and shipped on, said Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor Michael Patra.

US sanctions on Moscow for its February invasion of Ukraine prohibit the import to the United States of Russian-origin energy products including crude oil, refined fuels, distillates, coal and gas.

“The refined output was put back on that ship and it set sail without a destination. In the mid-seas, it received the destination so it reached at its course, went to New York,” Patra said at an event to celebrate 75 years of India’s independence.

The US embassy in New Delhi said it had no immediate comment.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 14th, 2022.

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