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Moscow's Oil 
Laundromat

Cheap holiday flights and the school run:

how much Russian oil are we still using?

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woman at the gas station

Russian oil is flowing through a loophole in UK sanctions - and Vladimir Putin is using the profits to lubricate his war machine.

Up to £140 million a year from Britain - and as much as £1 billion in total from sales to the West.

 

This might include the petrol you buy to run your car or the jet fuel for your bargain holiday break.

 

Closing the loophole is easy and would cost the UK ... NOTHING.  

Let us explain WHY
'the refining loophole' matters.

Two and a half years since the full-scale invasion, Russia shows no sign of relenting in its savage war on Ukraine. Renewed attacks on civilian targets, especially the country's energy network, foreshadow another bitterly cold winter for Ukrainians. 
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Russia's oil industry is a major source of the funds that the Kremlin needs to fuel this war. This is what Russia can buy with the £140 million it still receives from petroleum sales in the UK:

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7,600

278,000

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Glide bombs

AK-12 assault rifles

152 mm artillery shells

173,000

695 million

Rounds of ammo

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Are we unwittingly lubricating Putin's cash machine?
 

blackout in ukraine
infrastructure fire in ukraine

How does Russian oil find its way into your car or flight?

The UK and other G7countries banned the direct import of Russian crude oil and the petroleum products. But Russian oil is still supplied to the UK after being processed in third countries like India, China and NATO member - Turkey.

​

Refineries in these countries purchase Russian crude oil, process it into other products ( most notably - jet fuel, diesel and gasoline) and export them to the UK without any restrictions.

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Below is the so-called 'refining loophole', with the countries involved frequently referred to as 'laundromat countries'. The loophole and laundromat are estimated to provide more than £140 million per year of tax revenue to the Russian budget from UK sales alone, and more than £1 billion from Europe as a whole.

Russia

Crude oil 

Laundromat countries

Oil refineries process crude

oil into oil products

G7 and EU

  • Diesel

  • Gasoline

  • Jet fuel

  • Other oil products

The loophole that allows Russian crude to be processed in third countries, and then sold on to the UK and other western nations, must be urgently closed. 

What can British Government do about the 'refining loophole'?

It is not hard to close the loophole: a simple legislative fix could be ‘copy-pasted’ from the existing import ban on products containing Russian steel. Rather than turn a blind eye to tax revenues from petroleum product sales in Europe worth £1 billion to Moscow, Keir Starmer’s government could lead by example – and ban the sale of processed Russian oil in the UK.
 
Mission Ukraine has submitted a detailed proposal to the relevant Government departments outlining the legislative changes needed, as well as the compliance mechanism to close the refining loophole.

 

We are open to further discussions and will be pleased to cooperate with the UK Government if our advice is found useful. 
 

Take action now.

If you want to support the closure of the Moscow's Oil Laundromat in the UK, please consider the following steps:

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  • LinkedIn
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