Refined oil in India is resold to the United States; this is one of the methods by which Russia has avoided the economic sanctions imposed by the West over the last two years. According to Il Messaggero, despite the constraints, oil sales to India reached a record high of $37 billion last year, with Moscow’s income totalling $320 billion. According to the newspaper, sanctions cannot include third-party countries, allowing states like Turkey, Kazakhstan, and India to operate as intermediaries, facilitating the transit of sanctioned commodities to and from Russia via their borders.
The Centre for Energy and Clean Air found that the flow of funds between Russia and India has surged by more than 13 times since the pre-war period. This large cargo volume could include the so-called “shadow fleet” of crude oil tankers built by Moscow to conceal trades and maximise profits. The shipping company Windward says this “fleet” numbered 1,800 vessels last year.
The Kremlin has also evaded other sanctions. Several banking routes for dealing with Russia have remained available in the West for the last two years. European authorities suspect that military and technological equipment was purchased through these channels or possibly disguised as payments for pharmaceutical, food, or energy products (such as petrol, which is still sold, albeit in much smaller quantities) and that trade with the EU is theoretically prohibited.
These include chemicals and electronic components such as semiconductors used in washing machines and missiles. Transactions have been carried out by taking advantage of gaps between Western sanctions, with certain nations, such as Hungary, failing to completely comply with international decisions. It should also be emphasised that until last January, sanctions did not affect Moscow’s diamond business, which is one of its most lucrative.
