Australian super funds accused of profiting from shipments of ‘blood oil’
One million tonnes of Russian refined products have been unloaded from the ATB terminal since January 2024, according to chemical engineer and anti-Kpler analysis of trade data.–Russian oil trade campaigner Mark Corrigan. The product is then shipped to other destinations.
“VTTI clearly handles oil products that are refined in Russia and arrive at its terminals via tankers from Russian ports,” Corrigan wrote in a report sent last week to the Australian Sanctions Office within the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Oil storage silos near Tanjung Pelepas Port in Pontian, Johor, Malaysia.Credit: Bloomberg
Kateryna Argyrou, President of the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organizations (AFUO), said: “We are deeply disturbed that Australian pension funds are profiting from Russian bloodbath trading through their investment managers.
“These pension funds intended to benefit Australian workers are indirectly supporting Russia’s war by facilitating this trade.
“This raises serious ethical and legal questions, especially given that Australian workers’ retirement savings are tied up in companies profiting from a business that directly undermines our nation’s sanctions and supports Russia’s genocidal aggression in Ukraine.”
He added that the Australian-Ukrainian community had “lost confidence in the Albanian government’s ability to effectively enforce sanctions and follow the rhetoric of standing with Ukraine”.
Kateryna Argyrou, co-chair of the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organizations, said Ukrainian society had lost faith in the government’s ability to impose sanctions.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
IFM Investors, which manages an estimated $254 billion in assets, is jointly owned by AustralianSuper, Australian Retirement Trust, Hesta, UniSuper, Cbus and other industry superannuation funds, as well as a UK superannuation fund.
This imprint asked IFM Investors whether the firm was profiting from Russian oil trading, given its ownership stake in VTTI, and whether it had any ethical concerns about the company’s activities.
An IFM spokesperson said: “We take seriously the responsibility of our fund portfolio companies, and the responsibility of our fund portfolio companies, to comply with the applicable laws and regulations of the countries in which we invest and operate.”
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Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong has called on Australian businesses to ensure their supply chains do not help finance Putin’s regime.
“Australians expect their businesses to ensure their supply chains do not inadvertently fund Russia’s illegal and immoral invasion of Ukraine. Businesses must uphold this responsibility and expectation,” Wong said, in anticipation of an October Senate hearing.
Anti-Russia oil campaigner Corrigan said: “Australia’s industrial retirees are right to be outraged that their hard-earned nest eggs are being used to support Russia’s creepy oil trade.
“Umbrella investor IFM Investors is abdicating ethical responsibility by allowing Russian fuel tankers to use Malaysian assets.”
AustralianSuper and Australian Retirement Trust did not respond to requests for comment.
VTTI spokeswoman Karin Op den Kamp said the energy storage company “does not own, buy, sell, import or transport any oil, gas or refined products.”
“VTTI operates in strict compliance with all applicable laws and sanctions regimes in the territories in which it operates and maintains effective measures to ensure compliance and awareness of its sanctions-related obligations,” he said.
Millions of tons of Russian oil were also traded through the Singapore port, some of which belongs to Macquarie Bank. Guard reported earlier this month.
CREA estimates Australia imported $3.8 billion of oil refined from Russian crude between February 2023 and June 2025, generating $2 billion in tax revenue for the Kremlin.
This amount makes Australia the world’s largest importer of Russian fuel and easily dwarfs the total military and humanitarian aid Australia has provided to Ukraine since the start of the war.
The poll, carried out this month by Resolve for AFUO, found 50 per cent of Australians support the government insisting fuel importers should not ship Russian oil to Australia, with just 10 per cent opposed and 40 per cent neutral or undecided.
Australia’s imports from Indian refineries processing Russian crude increased by 140 per cent between September and October. The think tank found in its latest analysis.
Reliance Industries, owner of the world’s largest oil refinery and Australia’s largest supplier of Indian oil, told this imprint this week that it would end the use of Russian oil at its Jamnagar refinery from December; This is a move that could significantly reduce Russian oil imports to Australia.
Corrigan called on the sanctions agency to investigate whether Russian oil products are coming to Australia via Malaysia or Singapore, as well as India.
A DFAT spokesman said the government “imposed strict sanctions and other trade measures to restrict the import, purchase and transport of energy products from or originating in Russia”.
“The ban also covers Russian oil shipped through third countries,” the spokesman said, adding that the origin of raw materials used to produce energy products in third countries cannot be tracked at the moment.
The spokesman said the government was “considering options to put further pressure on Russia’s oil revenues” and “will continue to take action to deny Russia access to Australian markets and ensure Australia does not inadvertently fund Russia’s war machine.”
Government sources who were not authorized to speak publicly said the government would closely examine EU and UK mechanisms designed to prevent Russian oil from entering their markets to see whether they were suitable for Australia.
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