File photo: Gas pipelines are pictured at the Atamanskaya compressor station, facility of Gazprom’s Power Of Siberia project outside the far eastern town of Svobodny, in Amur region, Russia. (QNA)
Madrid: The Spanish government said on Friday it had opened a probe into the possible importation of Russian diesel via third nations to avoid sanctions imposed over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
The European Union banned Russian crude imports from December 5 and Russian oil products from February 5 in an attempt to deprive Moscow of energy revenue.
But experts and oil firm executives suspect some Russian diesel is still arriving in EU member states after first arriving at other nations to mask its origins.
Spanish daily newspaper El Mundo reported on Friday that at least two ships are suspected of having brought Russian fuel to Spanish ports from Morocco this year.
The report came a day after the chief executive of Spanish energy giant Repsol, Josu Jon Imaz, said Russian diesel was still coming into EU nations, including Spain via third nations.
Spanish Energy Minister Teresa Ribera said an initial inquiry showed all documentation was in order for the shipments and the fuel was not Russian, but the government would continue checking.
"Faced with the least suspicion, it is necessary to verify if the imported products come from the indicated place or from another country, if there is any irregularity," she added.
Ribera will write to the European Commission to propose the creation of a new certification and traceability system for oil imports, requiring evidence of the ports and refineries that supplied the fuel, her ministry said in a statement.
