BRICS member Russia is laundering its crude oil to the West with the help of middlemen despite the US sanctions. A new report from CERA shows that Russia has sold close to $2 billion worth of oil to Western countries via middlemen. The Putin administration has bypassed US sanctions to keep its economy afloat and its state-run businesses are functioning normally.
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Russia has used the help of its BRICS counterparts, India and China, to evade US sanctions. In addition, Russia has sold the majority of its crude oil to Turkey, which is then laundering the commodity to the West.
The CERA research found that Western countries, mostly from Europe, have ramped up their purchases from Turkish refiners. According to Kpler analysis, India, the BRICS counterpart, funneled around 89,000 barrels of Russian oil.
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BRICS: Russia Conducts Oil Deals Despite US Sanctions
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Last year alone, Saudi Arabia also procured Russian oil at discounted prices and laundered it all across Europe. The move is helping other nations buy oil at cheaper rates due to the US sanctions. If both Turkey and Saudi Arabia join BRICS, the movement of Russian oil to Europe could become a common occurrence.
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Apart from BRICS, even the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) provided support to Russia to secure oil deals amid the US sanctions. The GCC countries include Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman. All the GCC countries are oil-rich and export millions of barrels of oil to the US and Europe every year.
The Middle East is now open to accepting the Chinese yuan for oil transactions along with the US dollar. This is bolstering BRICS members Russia, China, and India to put their local currencies ahead for cross-border transactions. BRICS wants to cut ties with the US dollar for oil deals and trade in local currencies.