FT: Almost 50 Firms Coordinating $90bn Russian Oil Smuggling Operation

Almost 50 companies have been involved in coordinating to mask the origin of Russian oil, moving crude worth at least $90 billion, an investigation of the Financial Times has found. 

FT uncovered the network due to an IT blunder, the report carried by oil price.com said, stressing that the 48 identified entities all share a single private email server. 

The oil smuggling network includes firms and persons linked to Russia’s top oil producer, state-controlled Rosneft, and these have been in coordination to mask the origin of Russian crude, especially of Rosneft. 

The profits are estimated very conservatively at $90 billion, the report said, but are likely much higher, according to FT’s investigation. 

The US slapped sanctions on Rosneft in October 2025, effectively cutting off a major market for the Kremlin-controlled firm. The Russians and their connections were not deterred as they intensified the smuggling operations. 

Since October 2025, one company part of the network, Redwood Global Supply, has been the single biggest exporter of Russian crude oil, according to the investigation. Redwood Global Supply was sanctioned by the UK in December 2025 together with 13 other “entities and individuals involved in supporting the Russian energy sector.”  

Some of the companies in the email server are already known to European Union (EU) sanctions authorities for being involved in shady operations and likely helping sell Russian crude, the FT noted.