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yesterday

Leaked Memos Reveal Vietnam–Russia Energy Profits Used to Settle Arms Debts Outside Global Banks

The Associated Press says internal Vietnamese documents describe a concealed energy-for-arms payment route built to reduce sanctions exposure.

An AP reporter displays an excerpt from a June 11, 2024 memo from Vietnam's Oil and Gas Group (PVN) to the Ministry of Industry and Trade detailing an arrangement to avoid potential American sanctions when purchasing Russian defense goods, in Bangkok, Thailand, on Sept. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
FILE - Military visitors from Vietnam observe the Russian T-90MS tank during the International Military Technical Forum Army-2020 in Alabino, outside Moscow, Russia, on Aug. 23, 2020. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin, File)
FILE - U.S. President Joe Biden raises a toast as he participates in a State Luncheon with Vietnam President Vo Van Thuong in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Sept. 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
FILE - A view of reservoirs of Russian state-controlled oil giant OAO Rosneft, at Priobskoye oil field near Nefteyugansk, in western Siberia, Russia, April 5, 2006. (AP Photo/Misha Japaridze, File)

Overview

  • AP obtained 2023–2024 Petrovietnam memos outlining a mechanism that uses profits from the Rusvietpetro joint venture to repay Russian defense credits without cross-border bank transfers.
  • Excess profits are routed to Russia’s Zarubezhneft, which then has its Vietnam joint venture transfer an equivalent sum to Petrovietnam, avoiding SWIFT visibility.
  • The documents were provided by an anonymous Vietnamese official who opposes closer ties with Moscow and feared reprisals.
  • Vietnam’s industry ministry, Petrovietnam, the foreign ministry, and Russia’s finance ministry did not respond to AP’s requests for comment, while the U.S. State Department warned of sanctions risk for dealings with sanctioned entities.
  • Experts cited by AP say the structure appears precautionary against potential secondary sanctions such as CAATSA; recent Vietnam contracts for jets, tanks and frigates and Zarubezhneft’s 2024 approval for a new offshore project highlight ongoing defense-energy links.