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The UK has imposed sanctions on key figures it says are concerned within the commerce of Russian oil because it seeks to extend financial stress on Moscow amid ongoing negotiations for a peace deal in Ukraine.
In what Prime Minister Keir Starmer described because the UK’s “largest ever sanctions package deal” towards oil tankers in Russia’s so-called shadow fleet, the UK additionally focused 5 merchants from Azerbaijan, together with Etibar Eyyub, Tahir Garayev and Ahmed Kerimov.
The choice to sanction the executives represents a major escalation within the west’s effort to limit the commerce in Russian oil. The UK, US and EU have beforehand sanctioned firms alleged to be concerned within the export of Russian oil however typically stopped in need of focusing on people.
The wide-ranging western sanctions regime towards Moscow was designed to permit Russian oil to proceed to circulation however scale back the revenues collected by the Kremlin. In response, Russia constructed a community of oil tankers, delivery firms and merchants to assist circumvent most of the guidelines.
Eyyub, Garayev and Kerimov had all been “concerned in acquiring a profit from supporting the federal government of Russia by proudly owning or controlling, straight or not directly, or working as a director of Coral Vitality (now 2Rivers Group),” the UK authorities mentioned in its determination.
The UK linked Eyyub to 2 additional firms, Nord Axis Ltd and BX Vitality, which it additionally sanctioned on Friday.
It’s the first time that authorities have publicly linked Eyyub to Coral Vitality, which was based by Garayev in 2010, and Nord Axis, which was amongst a gaggle of merchants that sprung as much as commerce Russian oil following President Vladimir Putin’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Nord Axis was integrated on 15 February 2022, the week earlier than Russian tanks crossed the Ukrainian border. 5 months later, in July 2022, it emerged as the customer of Trafigura’s multibillion-dollar stake in Russia’s big Vostok oil venture.
Phrases of the deal between the 2 privately held firms weren’t disclosed. Trafigura mentioned on the time Nord Axis had taken on the $5.8bn of “non-recourse financial institution debt” it had borrowed from Russian lenders to finance its authentic $7.3bn buy of the asset. Trafigura declined to touch upon the UK sanctions determination.
Coral has beforehand mentioned it wound down its involvement in Russian oil earlier than the introduction of western restrictions on the finish of December 2022.
In 2024, Kerimov and two different Coral executives, Anar Madatli and Talat Safarov, who have been additionally sanctioned on Friday, acquired the corporate from the unique shareholder Garayev in a administration buyout. They later rebranded it as 2Rivers Group. The UK sanctioned 2Rivers in December.
In assertion to the Monetary Instances on behalf of 2Rivers, Madatli and Safarov, Kerimov mentioned the sanctions “disregard” the corporate’s “confirmed file of lawful conduct and our ongoing collaboration with regulators to uphold the best worldwide requirements”.
“The UK sanctions imposed, first on my firm and now on me personally, are a grave and unjust motion that fails to recognise the substantial reforms we’ve got undertaken,” he mentioned. “Since 2022, we’ve got diminished exercise and exited the Russian vitality market, aligning absolutely with the G7 Worth Cap Coalition’s necessities.”
Eyyub and Garayev couldn’t instantly be reached for remark.
The UK additionally imposed sanctions on dozens of oil tankers, which it mentioned had carried greater than $24bn price of cargo for the reason that begin of 2024.
“Each step we take to extend stress on Russia and obtain a simply and sustainable peace in Ukraine is one other step in direction of safety and prosperity within the UK,” Starmer mentioned in an announcement.
