UK Charges Financier With Money Laundering in $700M Russian Oil Fleet Scheme

The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) has charged 75-year-old British financier John Michael Ormerod with money laundering and violating sanctions against Russia, Financial Times (FT) reported on April 16.

According to an investigation by the FT, the Eton-educated chartered accountant helped purchase at least 25 used oil tankers for Lukoil, Russia’s second-largest oil producer. Between December 2022 and August 2023, Ormerod allegedly acquired the vessels for over $700 million.

Each tanker was registered through a separate offshore company in the Marshall Islands, with the funds provided by Dubai-based Eiger Shipping DMCC, a company owned by Lukoil’s trading arm, Litasco. Following their purchase, the ships transported more than 120 million barrels of Russian oil, with 97% of the shipments directly serving Lukoil.

Ormerod was officially added to the UK sanctions list on May 20, 2025. The NCA alleges that on that exact same day, he transferred £200,000 ($270,000) in violation of financial prohibitions for sanctioned individuals, and moved another £100,000 ($135,000) that he “knew or suspected” were the proceeds of criminal activity, leading to the money laundering charges, according to FT.

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, London has placed over 3,000 individuals and organizations on its sanctions list. However, criminal prosecutions for sanctions evasion remain exceedingly rare. An analysis by the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) found that out of approximately 1,800 sanctioned individuals, only two hold British citizenship, including Ormerod.

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War in Ukraine

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The UK saw its first such trial only recently, when former Sevastopol governor Dmitry Ovsyannikov was sentenced to 40 months in prison in April 2025 for violating sanctions.

The prosecution of John Michael Ormerod aligns with the UK’s effort to dismantle Russia’s shadow fleet of oil tankers. Moscow uses these aging, offshore-registered tankers to transport crude oil and bypass Western price caps. In response, London had previously sanctioned over a hundred specific vessels and the shell companies managing them.

Pursuing criminal charges against domestic financial facilitators is a direct measure to close the legal loopholes that allow Russia’s oil exports to continue funding its military aggression against Ukraine.

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