The Dangerous Loophole in Western Sanctions on Russia. Putin’s weaponry runs on advanced electronic components obtained from a hidden international market. Through a rare, hydra-headed blend of government sanctions and the historic stampede of 1,100 multinational firms out of the country, the economic blockade of Russia has proved highly effective. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war campaign struggles onward,...
Russia’s geopolitical balancing act between Iran and the UAE. Kremlin has to keep up excellent ties with its two main allies in order to carry on with its assault against Ukraine: Iran for drone delivery and the United Arab Emirates for evading sanctions. The three islands of Abu Musa, Greater Tunb, and Lesser Tunb are...
A Liberian-flagged oil tanker set sail in May from Russia’s Ust-Luga port carrying crude on behalf of a little-known trading company based in Hong Kong. Before the ship had even reached its destination in India, the cargo changed hands. The new owner of the 100,000 tonnes of Urals crude carried on the Leopard I was...
The US says it will not “under any circumstances” pay reparations to developing countries hit by climate change-fuelled disasters. Climate envoy John Kerry made the remarks at a Congress hearing before flying to China to discuss the issue. Some countries want major economies – which produce the most greenhouse gases – to pay for past...
A US citizen established front companies in Iran, the UAE and Panama, purchased oil tankers and used false shipping documents to carry out two multi-year schemes to evade sanctions on Iranian petroleum trade, US authorities say. The US Department of Justice says Behrouz Mokhtari, a 72-year-old Virginia resident with ties to Tehran, pleaded guilty to...
Let me say this from the outset, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is no friend of mine. It was there that I was arrested in 2018 on baseless allegations that I was spying for my country, the UK, and there that I was tortured and sentenced to life imprisonment (an experience suffered by innumerable other foreigners and Emiratis...
WASHINGTON — Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is sanctioning firms involved in the production or ongoing transfer to Russia of Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which Russia has used in devastating attacks against civilian infrastructure in Ukraine. OFAC is designating Shahed Aviation Industries Research Center, the firm responsible...
One targeted company, Industrial Resources General Trading, is a Dubai-based company sanctioned for importing gold from the Central African Republic and paying the Russian mercenary outfit in cash sent directly to Moscow. It is the first Emirati company sanctioned in relation to Wagner. OFAC previously targeted another United Arab Emirates (UAE) based firm, Kratol Aviation, for...
Wagner’s businesses in Africa isolate and create dependent economies, not funding for private armies. The US Treasury Department on Tuesday sanctioned gold and diamond mining concerns connected to the Wagner group in Mali and the Central African Republic after Yevgeny Prigozhin, the mercenary group’s founder, attempted to stage a mutiny in Russia last weekend. The gold and diamond mining enterprises, as...
The US has sanctioned entities operating in the UAE and Sudan for alleged connections to the notorious Russian mercenary group, which also has an extensive presence in the Middle East and North Africa. The Treasury Department specifically mentioned Industrial Resources General Trading’s connection to a gold and diamond company known as Diamville SAU. Diamville, which...