Russian investigators open criminal case saying petroleum exported to Belarus was contaminated intentionally

A week after low-quality Russian petroleum was first reported in Belarus, Russian investigators have opened a criminal case to look into the matter, Interfax reported. The Russian company Transneft argued that the contamination of petroleum in the Druzhba pipeline was intentional, saying that an organochlorine compound was added to the pipeline at the Samaratransneftterminal junction in Samara. An investigation is ongoing in several private offices in the city.

After a sudden drop in the quality of Belarusian petroleum imports from Russia was reported on April 19, Minsk temporarily limited its exports of petroleum products, including benzene, to nearby countries. Poland and Ukraine temporarily halted the transport of Russian petroleum in response to the incident, and Belarusian energy companies reported large financial losses.