Australia’s ‘toothless’ sanctions are helping russia to profit from oil sales

This is stated in a recent report on the effectiveness of sanctions against russia by the Australian Senate’s Cross-Party Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

The global coalition of civil society organisations B4Ukraine, together with the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) and the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations, contributed to the preparation of this report, particularly regarding the need to enshrine a ban on the import of russian petroleum products in law.

The report highlights that Australia has become “the largest single-country importer of petroleum products refined from russian crude oil”. This trade has grown significantly as the country has become increasingly reliant on imports following the closure of five of its own refineries.

The report’s authors call on the Australian federal government to close loopholes that allow Moscow to generate oil revenues via third countries. They also urge the government to urgently strengthen legislative provisions and better align the country’s sanctions approach with that of the EU, the UK and other allies.

Among the 11 recommendations in the report is a call to ban imports of russian blended oils and other goods, including timber, which may be processed in third countries before being legally imported.

The report’s authors also emphasise that Australia must identify all russian assets subject to sanctions and consider allocating additional resources to the relevant authorities to freeze and confiscate them.

Source: Ekonomichna Pravda