According to the BBC, the British government is examining 37 firms for possibly violating Russian oil sanctions.
Following the full-scale invasion in 2022, financial sanctions were imposed on Russia with the goal of cutting off funding for the Russian war machine.
Critics argue that the sanctions are ineffectual, citing recent data indicating that the Russian economy is strengthening.
The companies under investigation are likely mostly marine insurance companies.
The BBC has learned that the Treasury has been investigating 52 UK-linked companies suspected of breaching the financial sanctions since December 2022. As of August, the Treasury was still conducting 37 of these investigations, had concluded 15 of them, and had not imposed any fines.
Global Witness, an anti-corruption organization, described the lack of fines as “quite strange”. Global Witness’s head of fossil fuel investigations, Luis Wilson, called for “bold action” against companies that violate sanctions, fearing that others will follow suit.
The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI), a Treasury arm, is investigating suspected violations of the oil price cap and other financial restrictions. In March, it got an additional £50 million to implement the sanctions regime.
Earlier, at the end of September, the United Kingdom imposed sanctions on two legal entities and five vessels involved in the transportation of Russian liquefied natural gas.
Further, U.S. President Joe Biden announced the exposure of a cryptocurrency network that helped Russia evade sanctions and was involved in money laundering.
In September, the United States also imposed sanctions on the Russian propaganda media group “Russia Today” and its CEO Dmitry Kiselev.
