MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 31st July, 2023) The UK government continues to allow British companies to export equipment to Russia for the mining industry and fossil fuel extraction in ways circumventing sanctions, The Times reported on Monday, citing trade data.
The construction company Hill & Smith is one of the examples given by the newspaper. It said in its 2022 financial report that it has no direct customers or suppliers in Russia, however, export data show that one of its subsidiaries, Bergen Pipe Supports (India) Private Limited, continues to supply Russia's Arctic LNG 2 LLC with construction supports for fixing gas pipelines. A spokesman for Hill & Smith said the company does not have direct contact with customers in Russia, but provided no official comment on their subsidiary's trade with Russian entities.
Other UK-based companies may also be supplying equipment to Russia to support key extractive industries, according to the report.
Arctic LNG 2 is a second-largest liquefied natural gas production project of Russia's energy giant Novatek. Its projected annual capacity is 19.8 million tonnes of LNG.
After the start of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine, the West increased sanctions pressure on Moscow. The United Kingdom also imposed a great number of sanctions designed to inflict "devastating economic pain" on Russia and dubbed "most punishing" in history. They included assets freezing, banning access of Russian companies to the UK's financial market and banning Russian airlines from UK's airspace, among other restrictions.
