The US Treasury imposed sanctions on three UAE-based companies and eight individuals plus six entities in Balkan nations for violating the Russian oil price cap and for Kremlin-backed influence peddling.

US Treasury sanctioned companies violating $60/barrel oil price cap and Balkan individuals/entities for Kremlin-backed influence operations

The new sanctions target three firms registered in the United Arab Emirates: Kazan Shipping, Progress Shipping and Gallion Navigation, which own the vessels Kazan, Ligovsky Prospect, and NS Century, respectively.

These vessels engaged in the export of Russian crude oil priced above US$60 per barrel after the crude oil price cap took effect. They used US-person services while transporting the Russian-origin crude oil.

In December 2022, an international coalition of countries (the Price Cap Coalition), including the G7, the European Union, and Australia, agreed to prohibit the import of crude oil and petroleum products of Russian Federation origin unless that oil is bought and sold at or below the price cap of US$60 per barrel.

This year's rise in global oil prices has led to a significant portion of oil from Russia being traded at a price above US$60 per barrel, which effectively offsets the effect of Western sanctions.