Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration is facing scrutiny after a report from The Washington Post revealed its involvement in circumventing its own wartime sanctions to purchase inexpensive oil from Russia. The Post’s investigation highlights concerns about the Biden administration’s oversight.
Despite the collective ban on Russian oil imports by the U.S. and the European Union in March 2022 due to the country’s conflict with Ukraine, the Motor Oil Hellas refinery in Greece, serving the U.S. military, is still supplying Russian oil to the Pentagon, claiming to have adjusted to the new sanctions.
The company is alleged to have continued extracting Russian petroleum despite the 2022 sanctions. Interestingly, Motor Oil Hellas is accused of taking extensive measures to extract the illegal oil. According to The Washington Post, the refinery rerouted the forbidden product “hundreds of miles out of the way through an oil storage facility in Turkey.” The outlet contends that this detour “obscured Russia’s imprint as ownership of the products changed hands multiple times before they reached Greece.”
Furthermore, the practice of blending oil from various countries at refineries before distribution has reportedly facilitated the dissemination of Russian oil. The paper trail uncovered by The Post directly links Biden’s Pentagon to this compromised product.
The documented evidence reportedly connects Biden’s Pentagon to this compromised product. According to “federal contracting data,” the government entity entered into nearly $1 billion worth of new contracts with Motor Oil Hellas since the wartime sanctions were implemented last March. The Post also highlighted that a million barrels of jet fuel from Motor Oil Hellas have been distributed to various entities in Italy, France, Spain, and Britain since February 2022. Notably, Italy and France, both founding members of the European Union, also imposed sanctions on Russian oil. These entities are essentially accused of acquiring sanctioned oil through an intermediary. Moreover, the Post report suggests that this sanctioned oil came at a substantial premium due to the sanctions including a price cap on Russian oil.
However, nations seem to be neglecting the price cap, allowing Russia to sell its oil for significantly more than allowed. A representative from the Pentagon’s Defense Logistics Agency informed the outlet that the DOD has “no knowledge” of prohibited Russian fuel being discovered at a contracted supplier. Motor Oil Hellas vehemently denies these accusations, stating in a response to the Post that the company “does not buy, process, or trade Russian oil or products. All its imports are certified of non-sanctioned origin.” The scandal appears to be expansive and intricate, but the next steps remain unclear. The Washington Post highlights that enforcement of associated penalties has been limited.
“The U.S. military has not done its due diligence on the origin of this oil,” Isaac Levi, an analyst for a European nonprofit that tracks the flow of Russian oil, told the Post.
“It is not hard to see where it is coming from.”
