French court fines seized Russia-linked tanker 1 mn euros: prosecutors

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PARIS: A French court has fined the owner of a Moscow-linked oil tanker one million euros ($1.1 million) after it was intercepted for evading Western sanctions.

The Tagor, suspected of operating within Russia’s "shadow fleet" to transport crude oil despite international restrictions, will be permitted to leave French waters following a formal plea agreement.

Prosecutor Stephane Kellenberger confirmed that a court in the western city of Brest convicted the Marshall Islands-registered shipowner through a prior admission of guilt procedure.

The steep financial penalty was handed down because the tanker was sailing without a valid flag and its captain deliberately failed to comply with maritime orders.

The vessel had been intercepted at sea by the French Navy in late May 2026 with operational support from the United Kingdom. Western allies have continually penalized hundreds of these aging shadow ships to systematically reduce Moscow’s ability to fund its military invasion of Ukraine, despite the Kremlin labeling such oceanic seizures as international piracy.