Particle.news
Download on the App Store
5 ARTICLES
·
21h ago

Leaked Vietnamese Papers Detail Energy-for-Arms Payment Loop With Russia

The disclosure outlines a closed-cycle method that keeps repayments off SWIFT to reduce exposure to potential secondary sanctions.

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

  • Internal Vietnamese documents obtained by the Associated Press include a 2023 paper and a June 11, 2024 Petrovietnam memo prepared ahead of Vladimir Putin’s Hanoi visit.
  • Under the mechanism, Vietnam uses profits from the Rusvietpetro oil venture in Siberia to repay Russian military credit, then routes excess to Zarubezhneft in Russia, which mirrors the amount back to Petrovietnam via its Vietnam joint venture to avoid cross-border transfers.
  • The documents indicate Vietnam has acquired Russian fighter jets, tanks, ships and other equipment on credit linked to this accounting structure.
  • The U.S. State Department declined to comment on the specific plan but cautioned that transactions with sanctioned entities carry sanctions risk, and it signaled no new enforcement actions.
  • Vietnam’s ministries and Petrovietnam, along with Russia’s Finance Ministry, did not respond to requests for comment, while experts described the setup as a precaution against potential CAATSA-style penalties as Hanoi calibrates relations with Moscow and Western partners.