On February 1, 2024, the US joined the UK, the G7 and other members of the Price Cap Coalition to publish the Oil Price Cap (OPC) Compliance and Enforcement Alert. The alert was issued to provide supporting governments and industry stakeholders involved in the trade of Russian oil and oil products with an overview of recently identified OPC evasion methods along with information on how to report suspected OPC breaches. Common OPC evasion methods covered in the alert include:
- Falsified documentation and attestations that disguise the true price, vessel origin or other information about a shipment of Russian oil or oil products.
- Opaque shipping and ancillary costs that can be used it obfuscate Russian oil and oil products being purchased above the price cap.
- The use of third country supply chain intermediaries and complex and irregular corporate structures to trade Russian oil and oil products.
- Vessels that use certain flagging and flagging activities to obfuscate its true ownership and/or its affiliation with Russia.
- The use of the “shadow” fleet vessels to trade in sanctioned oil or oil products.
- The use of voyage irregularities to disguise the cargo’s ultimate destination, origin or recipient.
OFAC publication of OPC Compliance and Enforcement Alert | OFSI publication of OPC Compliance and Enforcement Alert