Bill Browder, CEO of Hermitage Capital Management and head of the global Magnitsky Justice campaign, addressed the Treasury Committee and exposed loopholes that allow Russia to continue profiting from oil sales despite Western sanctions.
He revealed the names of specific refineries in India, Turkey, and China that are buying Russian oil and selling refined products back to the West, undermining the sanctions’ effectiveness. These include the Vadinar refinery in India (49% owned by Rosneft), Jamnagar refinery in India, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum (both state-run Indian companies), Star refinery in Turkey (deal with Lukoil), and CNOOC Group and CNPC in China.[1]
Browder emphasized that while direct oil sales from Russia to the West have dropped by over 80%, the oil previously sold to the West is now being sold to India, China, and Turkey. The problem is twofold: Russia continues to earn significant revenue (estimated at $500 million to $1 billion per day) from these oil sales, and around $23 billion worth of refined Russian oil products are being sold back to the EU. The UK alone bought $2.2 billion worth of these products last year.[1]
As long as Russia can sell oil and earn hard currency, it can fund its war efforts and continue killing Ukrainians. Browder stressed the need to either sanction these refineries or legislate against buying oil products from them to close this loophole and prevent indirectly funding Russia’s war.[1]
Citations:
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpXOJFuGkAU
[2] https://www.reddit.com/r/UkraineWarVideoReport/comments/1ct24tu/bill_browder_stuns_mps_as_he_exposes_putins_oil/
[3] https://www.realclearenergy.org/video/2024/05/15/bill_browder_exposes_putins_oil_loopholes_1031889.html
[4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wZKLVOcVA4
[5] https://twitter.com/nigroeneveld/status/1790797924420538813
Sources: Times Radio – Midtown Tribune news