Avoiding sanctions: Russia's largest steel company opens office in UAE - Bloomberg
Russia's largest metallurgical company has opened an office in the UAE (Photo: rosmedia)
Russian company "Nornickel" has opened an office in Dubai, becoming the largest metallurgical and mining company to establish a presence in the United Arab Emirates after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to Bloomberg.
"Nornickel" was registered as Greenwich Holdings Limited in Dubai's financial district in December last year.
"The new holding, which so far has a small team and a lawyer as a director, may eventually expand as Norilsk Nickel — also known as Nornickel — eyes handling some trading and administrative functions from Dubai," the publication writes.
In addition, there has been an influx of Russian companies, commodity traders, and expatriates seeking refuge from sanctions in the UAE. Other Russian commodity firms have also expanded their presence in the UAE, aiming to mitigate their overseas activities.
EU Sanctions against Russia
EU sanctions against Russia were first imposed in 2014 for destabilizing the situation in Ukraine.
The restrictive measures significantly escalated after Russia launched a full-scale war on Ukraine in 2022. Sanctions include:
- An import ban on Russian oil.
- Disconnecting several Russian banks from the SWIFT system.
- A large number of export restrictions.
The sanctions target both specific individuals and state-owned or private companies in Russia.
Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the EU has implemented 11 rounds of sanctions.
Recently, the European Union extended economic sanctions against Russia that were imposed in response to the aggression in Ukraine. They will remain in effect for at least another six months.
