Bribe payments by oil trading giant Vitol Group were facilitated by an accounting system that allowed employees to bypass internal controls, according to a company official.

Russian claims that they continue to sell their oil at pre-sanctions levels turned out to be optimistic.

While the United States and its allies have long used sanctions to influence other countries’ policies, such measures often fail to achieve their stated goals. The ineffectiveness of the current Russia sanctions regime underscores the need for G7 countries to reassess the costs and benefits of economic warfare.

Kaliningrad’s Economy Buckles Under Sanctions