Britain’s sanctions enforcer says it has identified shipments of Russian crude and products that have used faked documents to suggest the oil was produced in another country.
The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (Ofsi) said fake certificates of origin (COs) may have been combined with other practices, including switching off ship tracking and the use of fraudulent pricing documents to evade sanctions.
The branch of the UK Treasury has published an advisory highlighting warning signs that point to the use of faked certificates.
It includes measures that British companies can take to ensure they are not linked with shipping Russian oil above the price cap.
“Ofsi has identified instances where shipments of Russian-origin oil and oil products have been manipulated to appear as non-Russian through the use of fabricated or falsified COs,” it said.
“Entities involved in the trade of Russian oil and oil products can use fabricated or falsified COs that claim Russian oil and oil products are of non-Russian origin.”
Price caps for Russian oil were introduced from December 2022.
They are aimed at stopping G7-linked shipping, finance and insurance involvement in moving Russian crude priced above $60 per barrel, to limit Kremlin revenues to wage war in Ukraine.
Regulators have since added extra measures to try to prevent evasion of the rules, including greater demands for companies to secure information about the sale price of the cargo.
The shipping and insurance industries have complained about the extra demands that have led many to avoid Russian business.
Others have moved ships outside of G7 restrictions, such as insurance companies and flagging services, to continue unfettered Russian trade.
The latest advisory is aimed at preventing the movement of oil outside of any price cap restrictions because it does not appear to come from Russia.
Ofsi said players should be wary of a CO citing a non-Russian producer when vessel-tracking information points to Russian port calls or suspicious ship-to-ship transfers.
It also warned of multiple versions of a certificate for a single shipment, or one issued by a private company that did not have the authority to issue it.
It said companies should check the information. The failure of a certificate issuer to respond should be seen as a warning sign.
Any suspicious activity that indicates a falsified certificate should be reported to national authorities.
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