Spain Probes Suspected Russian Diesel Imports via Morocco, Violating EU Sanctions

The third vice-president and Minister of Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera, assured on Friday that the Spanish government is already investigating these fraudulent imports of Russian diesel via Morocco, specifying that if the information is verified, these imports would be contrary to the European sanctions imposed on Russia after the invasion of Ukraine. "At the slightest suspicion, it is necessary to verify the origin of the products, whether these products actually come from the place indicated on the papers, or whether they come from another source and there has been some kind of irregularity," she specified.

The first investigations carried out with the importers "show apparently in order documents and that these products do not come from Russia. But we remain vigilant and will ensure that this is the case," said the vice-president. For the record, the European Union and the United States banned on February 5 the import of Russian diesel, a sanction against the Kremlin after the invasion in Ukraine. The measure was supported by a large majority of countries, but not by Morocco, which began in late 2022 to import a significant amount of diesel from Moscow (more than 7 million liters per day) and to export it to Spain.

"The saddest thing is that despite the sanctions, Russian diesel is still on the market. It is still on the European market and it is still on the Spanish market. Of course, there are several destinations, Turkey, North Africa... but this diesel is arriving in the EU. I hope that the European authorities will be very firm in maintaining the sanctions on Russian products," deplored for his part Josu Jon Imaz, the CEO of Repsol, during the presentation of the group’s quarterly results.