Western sanctions on Russia have significantly reduced state oil revenues and diverted tens of billions of dollars towards shipping and refining firms, some with Russian connections.
Most of the winners from the sanctions are based in China, India, Greece and the United Arab Emirates, at least 20 trading and banking sources said. A handful are partly owned by Russian companies.
None of the firms is breaching sanctions, the sources told Reuters, but they have benefited from measures designed by the European Union and the United States to reduce the revenues of what they call Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war machine.
As the Ukraine conflict heads into a second year, the calculations show that Russia’s income has dropped but the volume of exports has remained relatively stable despite sanctions.
Putin told the West that sanctions would trigger an energy price rally. Instead, international benchmark Brent oil prices have fallen to $80 per barrel from a near-all-time high of $139 in March 2022, weeks after the start of the war.
This report’s information was first seen on REUTERS; to read more, click this link.
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