'The US government is enabling a major commodity trader to funnel money back to Vladimir Putin's inner circle. This undermines US sanctions against Russia imposed over the war in Ukraine.' -TomRtweets
This undermines U.S. sanctions against Russia imposed over the war in Ukraine. It also limits the opportunity for U.S. companies to establish alternate supply chains in U.S. and allied interests.The company in question is Trafigura, a major multinational company based out of Singapore. As the Financial Times has recently reported, the U.S. government has sought to persuade Trafigura and other traders to move Russian oil without fear of sanctions.
That said, Trafigura defines itself by its close relationship with the Russian energy and commodities sector . Regardless, as its competitors have distanced themselves from Russian investments in response to the war in Ukraine, Trafigura is steaming ahead with new business activity. Reports suggest that it is negotiating a multibillion-dollar deal to acquire aluminum from Russia's Rusal company. Reports also indicate Trafigura very recently purchased large amounts of Russian copper from the London Metals Exchange.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, due to fears of violent reprisals, two energy sector sources and one Western security sector source told me that Trafigura is greasing Sechin's largesse network by selling lucrative stakes in Russian energy enterprises to what appear to be shell companies in Sechin's service.
Still, Trafigura's closeness to Sechin is hardly debatable. CEO Jeremy Weir has met Sechin on numerous occasions. In June 2021, Weir praised the Vostok Oil project, of which his firm then, shortly thereafter, sold a significant stake to Nord Axis. Weir said Trafigura was"proud and honored" to be part of what he described as a project of"colossal importance.
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