Australia secretly imported Russian oil: how the sanctions scheme worked

Australia has found itself at the center of an international scandal over possible purchases of Russian oil products, despite its ban on fuel imports from the Russian Federation due to the invasion of Ukraine. According to The Guardian, since 2023, the country has effectively imported over 3 million tons of Russian oil - through intermediaries.Some of this oil passed through a port in Singapore, which has ties to Macquarie Bank. There, the fuel was mixed or rerouted, after which it arrived in Australia without any label indicating its Russian origin.Journalists believe that this became possible due to gaps in the sanctions within Australian legislation. Analysts emphasize that this scheme contradicts Australia's position on supporting Ukraine and allows local companies to profit from cooperation with Russia.According to The Guardian's investigation, since the beginning of 2023, over 20% of Australia's oil product imports came from Singapore, which purchased over 22 million tons of fuel from Russia. Part of this fuel passed through the Jurong port, controlled by Macquarie Bank.The failure to enforce Australian sanctions on oil imports from Russia has provoked outrage and highlighted the inconsistency of government actions with the declared position of supporting Ukraine.