Economic Sanctions For the Poor; Oil and Gold For the Oligarchs - De-Dollarization Turf War

Ed.'s note: This is how criminal syndicates work. Countries like Venezuela, Russia and Iran are "targeted" with economic sanctions, then the criminal syndicates running their respective gangs continue to trade under the table. In this case oil and gold. The only thing economic sanctions do is cripple the populations of targeted countries while the criminal syndicates running these countries often work with the criminal syndicates of other countries for mutual gain. In fact, researchers will discover these criminal gangs often have Swiss bank accounts at the same bank and use the same offshore locations while victims of sanctions in these countries get rationed a loaf of bread and a vile of medicine. The criminal syndicate in the UK at war with the criminal syndicate that runs Russia do back room deals on gold. Watch closely in the coming months as Russia and China de-dollarize, then these criminal syndicates are going to have a turf war like we've never seen before. The US and UK double their Russian oil purchases while the US marshals the biggest war game exercise since the end of the "cold war" (marketing term) right on Russia's border to protect the US dollar. Scratching your heads yet?

U.S., Britain Double Russian Oil Purchases
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Source: RT News

Britain bought a record amount of Russian gold last year, spending over $5 BILLION

28 February 2020

© Reuters / Ilya Naymushin

Sales of Russian gold abroad jumped eight-fold last year to $5.7 billion, with almost all of that volume purchased by the United Kingdom.

According to customs data seen by RBC business news outlet, gold exports to Britain have grown more than 12 times in terms of value, to $5.33 billion.

Supplies to the UK accounted for 93 percent of all Russian gold exports. Twelve other countries, including Kazakhstan and Switzerland, bought only $409 million-worth of Russian gold.

More: Russia keeps stockpiling gold as bullion prices continue to surge

In physical terms, gold exports from Russia to the United Kingdom in 2019 increased 11 times, from 10.4 tons to 113.5 tons.

Almost the entire volume of deliveries to the UK is gold bullion. Taking into the account the London standard (an ingot weighing about 12.5 kg), it turns out that Russia delivered at least 9,000 ingots to the UK last year.

In addition to gold, Russia also increased the export of platinum (doubled to $936 million) and silver (2.5 times, to $100 million) to the UK.

Experts say that, in general, the scale of gold inflows to the United Kingdom most likely reflects global trends in demand for the precious metal and the country's traditional role as a center for its trade and storage. As with any criminal syndicate turf wars are a common occurring theme between competing gangs. When oil cartel of respective criminal syndicates get into a turf war, its like walking out into the street from a corner tavern right into the middle of a shootout between Chicago's Al Capone gang and a competing Chicago gang.

Please go to RT News to read the entire article.
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Ed.'s note: Have a look at this article on the US "sanctioning" Russia over Venezuelan oil exports while simultaneously purchasing oil from Russia. Rosneft isn't some small Russian backwater oil and gas firm either. Rosneft is Russia's largest pipeline, oil and gas cartel operating all over the globe. What might be going on with these criminal syndicates is working back room deals based on gold and oil as Russia and China have now dropped the dollar. There seems to be a component here too of a forced oil glut which would put pressure on the US dollar (petro dollar). One of the reasons why President Trump visited India was to discuss with India its decision to also drop the US dollar. And to force de-dollarization, Russia will create the necessary conditions where no other competing criminal syndicate will interfere. The confusion and allegiances here are mind boggling. On the one hand, the US is purchasing gas from Russia, while on the other hand the US under President Trump is  scolding Germany for purchasing gas from Russia. This is how criminal syndicates work. So while the US continues its bragging and PR campaign exaggerating how "effective" economic sanctions have been on "crippling Russia's oil and gas industry," Russia continues its massive expansion of oil and gas production into the Arctic region.


Source: ABC News

US sanctions Russian oil firm for facilitating Venezuela exports as pressure campaign tightens

It's a significant step, but Nicolás Maduro shows no signs of leaving power.

By Conor Finnegan | 19 February 2020

The Trump administration sanctioned a division of Russia's powerful state-owned oil company for facilitating Venezuelan exports in a bid to increase pressure on the government of Nicolás Maduro and push him from power.

The move is a significant step in trying to sever Moscow's support for Maduro and dry up funding for his government. But after more than a year of intensifying economic pressure, the strongman leader who has overseen an economic and humanitarian crisis and seized political power shows no signs of leaving, according to U.S. officials.

These sanctions target Rosneft Trading Company, an oil brokerage firm that handles 70% of Venezuela's oil exports, according to U.S. Special Envoy for Venezuela Eliot Abrams, along with its president. Already under a U.S. embargo, those oil exports have kept Maduro afloat financially and politically, giving him funds to pay the military and security forces.

Senior U.S. officials said they would be the first of many new steps in 2020 to expand a "maximum pressure" campaign against Maduro and increase the cost for Russia to continue supporting him -- a step that Venezuela's opposition had been urging the administration to take.

File photo: Igor Sechin, chief executive officer of Rosneft PJSC, shakes hands with Nicolas Maduro, president of Venezuela, after signing natural gas deals with Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) in Caracas, Venezuela on July 28, 2016.File photo: Igor Sechin, chief executive officer of Rosneft PJSC, shakes hands with Nicolas Maduro, president of Venezuela, after signing natural gas deals with Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) in Caracas, Venezuela on July 28, 2016. Bloomberg via Getty Images

"There will be more steps and further pressure in the coming weeks and months," Abrams said during a briefing at the State Department on Tuesday.

While he said no individual action will bring an end to Maduro's control, he added that it's "a very significant step, and I think you will see companies all over the world in the oil sector now move away from dealing with Rosneft Trading."

Since January 2019, the U.S. has declared Maduro illegitimate and instead recognized the leader of the opposition-controlled National Assembly Juan Guaidó as Venezuela's legitimate president, along with nearly 60 other countries.

Please go to ABC News to read the entire article.
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Source: RT News

It's just business: US & Britain buying more and more oil from Russia

Oil platforms operated by Lukoil company are seen at the Korchagina oil field in Caspian Sea, Russia. © REUTERS / Maxim Shemetov

27 February 2020

Russia more than doubled crude oil supplies to the United States and Britain in 2019, data from the Federal Customs Service (FCS) has revealed. A fall in prices for the Russian Urals oil, combined with US sanctions against Venezuela and Iran, were among the reasons for such an increase in purchases. According to the data cited by business news outlet RBC, in October Russia became the second-largest supplier of oil and petroleum products to the United States. At the end of 2019, crude oil exports from Russia amounted to almost $2.2 billion, 2.4 times more than in 2018. In physical terms, the volume of oil exports from Russia to the US surged from 1.8 million to 4.7 million tons.

More: One of the world's largest oil companies just ditched the dollar

Deliveries of Russian crude to the United Kingdom have more than doubled, both in value terms (from $493 million to $1.2 billion) and in physical terms (from 0.98 million tons to 2.4 million tons). 

The fact that the US and Britain started buying more Russian crude is not politically motivated, says Andrei Polishchuk, an analyst at Raiffeisenbank. This is "simple economics," he told RBC, explaining that countries choose from whom to buy solely from the point of view of profit.

"Oil is sold by traders; there are very few direct contracts. Therefore, first of all, the price is the major factor. If it is more attractive than from other sellers, then buyers prefer Russian oil," he said.

Please go to RT News to read the entire article.
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More:

The U.S. Spends Billions Annually On Russian Oil

Why the U.S. Is Buying Natural Gas From Russia

Russian oil & gas firms plan to invest $20 BILLION in Iraq's energy industry


Democracy Now isn't really a dependable news source for deep political analysis and insight but thought we would toss it in the mix here as further evidence of how these criminal syndicates work undercover with media complicity. Democracy Now in case readers don't know is through Pacifico (proxy) which is funded by George Soros' criminal syndicate Open Society Foundation.

Could Massive Russian Oil Deal with Exxon Explain Why Putin Appears to Have Meddled in US Election?


This is the equivalent of Al Capone's syndicate upgrading his Chicago outfit with Thompson submachine guns.

Russia Seeks to 'Create Conditions so That Nobody Wants to Fight Us' – Putin (VIDEO)