Donald Trump's sanctions working? SBI bans transactions of Nayara Energy with Russian connection due to...
New Delhi: In a significant development amid the US's increasing pressure on India over economic and trade relations with India, the State Bank of India (SBI) has stopped handling Nayara Energy's trade and foreign exchange transactions due to concerns over US and EU sanctions following a recent US tariff hike. Notably, Nayara, formerly Essar Oil, was acquired in 2017 by a Rosneft-led group and operates India's second-largest refinery (20 MTPA) with 8% of national refining capacity and over 6,500 petrol pumps. Why SBI has banned transactions of Nayara Energy?
The Russian company Nayara Energy imports crude, refines it into fuels, and sells domestically and overseas. The trade with troubles escalated after the EU's July sanctions package capped Russian crude prices at $47.6 per barrel, making transactions more difficult amid the increasing threats of tariffs from US. Microsoft restores services to Russian oil firm Nayara Energy
In another significant update, Tech giant Microsoft informed that services were restored to the Russia-backed oil exploration and marketing company Nayara Energy, two days after Nayara alleged that Microsoft had abruptly cut off access to its data and services.
In a statement, the company said it is 'committed to supporting all its customers in India and worldwide and has restored services for Nayara Energy'.
'We are engaged in ongoing discussions with the European Union towards service continuity for the organisation,' said a company. How is Nayara Energy related to Russia?
Nayara Energy, which operates fuel retail outlets in India, is primarily owned by Russia's Rosneft, which owns nearly 49 per cent of the company. Trafigura and UCP Investment Group, both foreign companies, jointly own the majority of the remaining stake via an Indian consortium. Earlier this week, Nayara Energy filed a petition in the Delhi High Court, alleging that the US-based technology firm abruptly and unilaterally suspended essential services without notice.
(With inputs from agencies)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
8 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
BEST credit society served notices ahead of polls
MUMBAI: The BEST Employees' Credit Society, touted as a symbol of the much-hyped, recent alliance between the Shiv Sena (UBT) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), has been served notices by the state government and the police over alleged irregularities in the cooperative. Raj Thackeray, Chief of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), and Uddhav Thackeray, Chief of Shiv Sena (UBT). (Raju Shinde/ HT Photo) The BEST Kamgar Sena, a wing of the Sena (UBT) currently in control of the credit society, says the move is a ploy by the BJP-led Mahayuti government to muddy the waters ahead of the August 18 elections in the credit cooperative. The poll will pit the Sena (UBT)-MNS alliance against Mahayuti coalition partners, the BJP and Shiv Sena, both on the back foot in these elections. More critically, the BEST Kamgar Sena sees the move as an attempt to undermine Sena (UBT)-MNS unity, the first formal alliance between the two political parties led by the Thackeray cousins, Uddhav and Raj, leaders of the Sena (UBT) and MNS, respectively. For the upcoming polls, the Sena (UBT) will contest 18 of the 21 seats up for grabs, the MNS two seats, and the BEST SC/ST Employees Welfare Association one seat. If the alliance wins the election, the MNS will bag one more post, that of a nominated director. In contrast, the BJP and Shiv Sena led by deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde will be contesting the election as opposition parties. Now, less than a week before the polls, the credit cooperative has been served notices by the state cooperation department and the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police. The first notice, dated August 13, has been served by the divisional joint registrar of co-operative societies in Mumbai. It states, 'As per the complaint application by Vivekanand Ghag and Rajendra Gore, under section 89 A of Maharashtra Cooperation Department, deputy registrar Rajendra Gaikwad has been appointed as investigation officer to conduct inquiry of records of society of year 2024-25. Jitendra Chavan will assist him and they will submit an inquiry report by August 29.' The credit society has also received a notice from the EOW, initiating an inquiry into an alleged ₹24-crore irregularity in the cooperative, on a complaint filed by Ghag. Suhas Samant, president of the BEST Kamgar Sena, slammed the Mahayuti government and BJP leaders, alleging that BJP MLC Prasad Lad has instigated the inquiry. 'For years, the BEST Kamgar Sena has been in power in the credit society. This time, however, the Sena (UBT) and MNS have entered into an alliance for the elections, which has upset Mahayuti leaders. Now the society's office-bearers have received notices. BJP MLC Prasad Lad is behind this. They want to create confusion among voters,' he said. 'But in the last audit conducted by a government auditor, the BEST Employees Credit Society received an 'A' grade and this is in the public domain. How can a credit society assigned an A grade be accused of irregularities,' asked Samant. Responding to the allegation, Prasad Lad said an inquiry will be conducted as there were irregularities in the credit cooperative. Government agencies have initiated an inquiry on the basis of a complaint filed by Ghag. The cooperation department is conducting a separate inquiry and the EOW is looking into irregularities of ₹24 crore in the credit society. If there are complaints of irregularities, how can we keep quiet, asked Lad.
Hindustan Times
8 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
ED freezes ₹110 crore linked to illegal betting platform Parimatch
MUMBAI: The Mumbai unit of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has frozen ₹110 crore lying in mule bank accounts in connection with a money-laundering probe into Cyprus-based illegal betting platform Parimatch. The action followed coordinated searches at 17 locations across the country on Tuesday, including Mumbai, Surat, Delhi, Noida, Kanpur, Madurai and Hyderabad. ED freezes ₹ 110 crore linked to illegal betting platform Parimatch The platform, owned by a Ukrainian national abroad, allegedly amassed nearly ₹3,000 crore from Indian users in 2023-24 alone, luring them with promises of high returns before defrauding them, ED officials said on Thursday. According to investigators, the frozen funds—proceeds of crime—were parked in multiple mule accounts used to layer and divert money to various recipients. Searches also led to the seizure of incriminating documents, digital devices and 1,200 credit cards linked to mule accounts. Complex laundering network The ED's probe, based on a complaint by the cyber police station in Mumbai, has uncovered a multi-layered laundering operation. In south India, user deposits were allegedly funnelled into mule accounts and withdrawn in cash in parts of Tamil Nadu, before being handed to hawala operators. These operators then recharged virtual wallets of a UK-based firm, which were used to buy USDT cryptocurrency in mule accounts run by Parimatch agents. In western India, Parimatch allegedly used Domestic Money Transfer agents to collect betting funds in mule accounts and channel them back through credit card transactions. Investigators have also flagged payment companies whose Payment Aggregator licence applications were rejected by the Reserve Bank of India. These firms allegedly provided backend services to Parimatch disguised as Technology Service Providers (TSPs), offering Application Programming Interface (API) access to integrate mule accounts—often opened in the names of e-commerce and payment service firms—into the platform. The funds were then 'masked' as e-commerce refunds, vendor payments and other routine expenses to obscure their origin and movement, officials said. Aggressive promotion in India To attract customers, Parimatch invested heavily in marketing, sponsoring sports tournaments and tying up with celebrities. Indian-registered entities—'Parimatch Sports' and 'Parimatch News'—were allegedly used for surrogate advertising, funded through foreign remittances. A city - based businessman, who is the complainant in the Mumbai police's case, alleged that he had lost around ₹12.22 crore at the accused illegal platform and its allied applications due to their 'non adherence to fairplay'. The businessman claimed he got attracted to the accused gaming platform's claims related to high returns, sometime in 2021, after noticing its advertisements and celebrity endorsements for it on a social media platform. 'All of us who have lost any money on the accused platform should be compensated,' the complainant told HT.
Economic Times
8 minutes ago
- Economic Times
Border patrol conducts immigration operation outside Gov. Newsom press conference in downtown Los Angeles
Governor Gavin Newsom spoke in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday at the Japanese American National Museum. He was promoting his plan to change California's congressional districts in response to redistricting by Republican-controlled Texas. About 100 federal agents gathered just outside in the Little Tokyo area, likely for an immigration operation. Newsom's office posted on social media in a style similar to Donald Trump, 'BORDER PATROL HAS SHOWED UP AT OUR BIG BEAUTIFUL PRESS CONFERENCE! WE WILL NOT BE INTIMIDATED!', as reported by KTLA 5. The Los Angeles Police Department warned of traffic disruptions due to the large federal presence. LA Mayor Karen Bass said the agents' presence 'was no coincidence' and called it 'unbelievably disrespectful' and 'provocative'. Bass added, 'They decided they were going to come and thumb their nose in front of the governor's face…They are talking about disorder in Los Angeles, and they are the source of the disorder in Los Angeles right now'. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the Border Patrol patrols all areas of Los Angeles every day with over 40 teams to keep LA safe, and the operation was not about targeting Newsom. McLaughlin said, 'Our law enforcement operations are about enforcing the law—not about Gavin Newsom', as per the KTLA 5 agents detained at least one person during the operation in downtown Los Angeles. The arrested person was a strawberry vendor outside the Democracy Center in Little Tokyo. Border Patrol Sector Commander Gregory K. Bovino said the man was in the country illegally, as mentioned by NBC Los Angeles. Video showed armed and masked U.S. Border Patrol agents walked the man with his hands restrained behind his back toward federal buildings, including a detention center. Newsom mentioned the Border Patrol operation during his speech, saying: 'Right outside, at this exact moment, dozens and dozens of ice agents…Donald Trump, you think it's coincidental? Donald Trump's minions, (border czar) Tom Homan, decided this was a location they'd advance'ALSO READ: Nike's Phil Knight shocks nation with $2 billion donation to Oregon Cancer Center — largest ever Newsom added, 'Donald Trump, you have poked the bear. We will punch back'. Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff also spoke at the event inside the museum while dozens of agents were outside. Padilla, who was forcibly removed earlier this year from a DHS news conference, said outside: 'Trump, it's all about spectacle…Guess what? California is not going to be intimidated', as stated by the report. In addition to Newsom's speech, a midday ceremony was held nearby at the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center honoring three Japanese American brothers who served in World War II while their family was in forced internment under a WWII-era executive Bass emphasized again: 'There is no way this was a coincidence…This is a complete provocation. This has nothing to do with safety. This is the exact opposite of keeping our city safe'. Bovino responded about the Border Patrol location, saying: 'Breaking the law is not coincidental…Breaking the law is breaking the law', as mentioned by reports. Immigration enforcement operations in Los Angeles and Southern California have been happening regularly since early June. These operations are part of President Trump's campaign promise to carry out a mass deportation plan. The administration focuses on arrests of undocumented immigrants with violent crime convictions, but also includes asylum seekers, visa overstays, and migrants waiting for immigration court, as per the report by NBC Los Angeles. Through August 1, nearly 56,600 migrants were taken into ICE detention since the start of Trump's second those detained, 29% had criminal convictions, 24.7% had pending criminal charges, 46.8% were 'other immigration violators,' and 11.9% were fast-tracked for deportation, as reported by NBC News. Q1. Why were federal agents outside Gov. Newsom's press conference in LA? About 100 federal agents were conducting an immigration enforcement operation in Little Tokyo, not targeting Newsom personally. Q2. Who was arrested during the Border Patrol operation outside Newsom's event? A strawberry vendor was detained for being in the U.S. illegally, according to Border Patrol officials.
