$33 India's richest man buys USD 33 billion worth of oil from russia

The Indian holding company Reliance Industries has bought USD 33 billion worth of russian oil since the start of the full-scale invasion of the aggressor country of russia into Ukraine. The holding company belongs to Asia's richest man Mukesh Ambani.

This is reported by the American publication The Washington Post. Ukrainian News informs.

The publication recalled that last month US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said that some of India's richest families are benefiting from russia's war against Ukraine. He did not name any names. However, WP writes, there is no doubt that Bessent was referring to Ambani.

He is the richest man in Asia with a fortune exceeding USD 100 billion, and his conglomerate Reliance Industries touches almost all areas of life in India. The pearl of the holding company is the division that deals with oil refining.

According to the publication, since February 2022, Reliance has purchased oil from russia worth about USD 33 billion. This is approximately 8% of Moscow's crude oil sales during this period.

Before the full-scale invasion, India practically did not buy oil from russia. Everything changed after numerous sanctions and the introduction of a ceiling on oil prices, after which the russian federation was forced to start providing discounts to oil buyers. Indian companies, including Reliance, took advantage of this. The holding's purchases peaked in 2023, amounting to USD 11.7 billion, and then decreased to USD 9.8 billion in 2024. From January 1 to August 12 of this year, the company's purchases of russian oil amounted to USD 6.2 billion.

The publication notes that these data give the most accurate picture of Reliance's role in the global oil trade, which helped russian dictator vladimir putin survive Western sanctions and continue the offensive in Ukraine.

Нагадаємо: Індія буде купувати російську нафту, попри погрози Трампа — NYT.