In the months after the invasion, Essar entered into complex offshore arrangements that appear to have enabled the group to keep dealing with a Russian bank under sanctions from the west.
Essar shifted billions of dollars in loans, provided by the Kremlin-controlled lender VTB, from Cyprus to a subsidiary in the tax haven of Mauritius, where sanctions did not apply.
The Cyprus and Mauritius entities that took part in the transfer included subsidiaries of Essar’s UK arm, Essar Energy.
Essar said that UK sanctions law did not apply to the transaction and that it complied with all applicable sanctions law after taking advice from a leading law firm. But the restructuring “raises red flags in relation to possible [sanctions] circumvention”, according to a leading expert.
If something’s legal, it’s legal, right?
Russians probably own most of Cyprus nowadays. The place can certainly do you a nice deal on a passport.
And Mauritius ? Well I thought that was run by the Chinese.
I expect the CCP will do business with anyone so long as they get their piece of the action.
Seems unlike MTK to move the Chagossians into a tax haven?
Lucky they didn’t own a football team.
Isn’t UK in deep enough shit without f*ing with a refinery?
Y’all not dying fast enough?
No problem; Mauritius is Starmer’s / Hermer’s/ Sand’s favourite country so I’m sure they cooperate….