Ville Niinistö

Russian shadow fleet enabled by EU-linked insurers, investigators say

BRUSSELS — Ships illegally transporting sanctioned Russian oil are still operating with insurance ultimately backed by European financial markets, according to analysts and a lawmaker tracking the tankers. Russia’s so-called shadow fleet uses intermediaries and, ultimately, “European and Western banking organizations” to channel money and “basically wash the insurance through these middle hands,” said Ville Niinistö, chair of the European Parliament’s Delegation to the EU-Russia...