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Record Diesel Imports From Morocco Raise Suspicion of Russian Fuel in Spain
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![Photo of Maryna Kulakova]( "Photo of Maryna Kulakova")
Spain has sharply increased its diesel imports from Morocco, fueling concerns that Russian-origin fuel may be entering the country despite EU sanctions, as reported by El Pais on July 1.
According to official data from CORES , Spanish ports received 123,000 tons of diesel from Morocco between March and April 2025—more than the total imported over the previous four years combined. Morocco, which had never exported diesel to Spain before, has now become a major supplier.
Industry experts suspect some of this fuel may originate in Russia. Unlike the EU, Morocco has not sanctioned Russian petroleum products, enabling continued imports and potential re-export. Ship-tracking data from Vortexa shows over 1 million tons of Russian diesel arrived in Morocco in 2025—about 25% of its total imports. In 2024, Russian diesel made up 9% of Morocco’s 6.5 million tons of imports; in 2023, it was 1.62 million tons.
Experts find it economically irrational for Morocco, which hasn’t had operational refineries since 2016, to import diesel solely for re-export. They believe lower-cost Russian diesel is blended or stored in Moroccan facilities, then re-exported to Spain with Moroccan documentation, obscuring its true origin.
Triangulating fuel through third countries to bypass sanctions is a common tactic. Spanish authorities have been investigating such practices since at least 2023. After the first shipments from Tangier, Spain’s Ministry for Ecological Transition launched an inquiry but couldn’t confirm the fuel’s Russian origin. Diesel’s uniform viscosity makes it difficult to trace, unlike crude oil.
In late 2024, Spain’s fraud and competition authorities launched a $2.04 billion investigation into what media dubbed the “diesel mafia.” The scheme allegedly involved importing fuel from sanctioned countries—Russia, Syria, and Iran—while falsifying documentation in Turkey or Morocco to hide its origin.
Several Spanish companies that imported diesel from Morocco in 2023 are suspected of using Russian-origin fuel to gain a price advantage. Some have been suspended or are facing legal action.
Spain has also seen a surge in diesel imports from Singapore and Turkey—countries that were not previously major suppliers to its market.
Even in mid-2023, Exolum CEO Jorge Lanza admitted the Spanish government lacked the technical means to verify whether Russian diesel was entering via third countries like Turkey.
It was previously reported that Russia has quietly opened a new route to circumvent sanctions and maintain its oil exports—this time through a remote Southeast Asian port, according to Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service on May 11.
