We are driving around with Russian oil in our cars as fuel.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/nov/09/loophole-russian-sanction...9th Nov 2025
‘Loophole’ in sanctions allowing Russian oil to be imported to Australia through port part-owned by Macquarie Bank
Australia stopped buying fuel directly from Russia after its invasion of Ukraine but has imported more than 3m tonnes of its oil products since 2023.
Millions of tonnes of Russian oil have been traded through a port part-owned by Macquarie Bank and potentially sold on to Australian businesses, new data shows.
The identification of a new link between Australia and the trade in Russian-origin products exposes further gaps in government sanctions, as Australia lags behind the EU and the UK in tightening import rules.
Australia stopped buying fuel directly from Russia after its invasion of Ukraine but has imported more than 3m tonnes of Russian-originating oil products since 2023, the Europe-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (Crea) has found.
Australia’s sanctions allow purchases via third countries, which Crea’s Europe analyst Vaibhav Raghunandan said had indirectly supported Russia’s oil production and the Kremlin’s tax revenues.
“This is a significant loophole being exploited by Australian buyers who, while on the right side of the law, are undoubtedly on the wrong side of the ethics of it,” Raghunandan said.
“It clearly undermines Australia’s support for Ukraine.