AFP probe into sanctions breaches signals stronger enforcement
Transparency International Australia and the Australian Centre for International Justice (ACIJ) welcome reports that the Australian Federal Police (AFP) is investigating Australian coal company Tigers Realm Coal Limited over alleged breaches of Australia’s sanctions laws.
In 2024, the Federal Court found that the company was captured by Australia’s sanctions laws in dismissing the company’s challenge of the application of these laws to its coal operations in Russia.
Transparency International Australia Chief Executive Officer Clancy Moore said the AFP’s action sends an important message.
“We strongly support the AFP’s investigation into Tigers Realm. Robust enforcement of Australia’s sanctions laws will help stop the flow of money funding Putin’s war against the people of Ukraine.”
“The company’s operations were full of red flags. The continued involvement of Politically Exposed Persons, potential conflict of interests, the continued mining and transporting of a sanctioned good, and opaque and hidden ownership structures had raised serious questions about whether Australia’s sanctions framework was effective.”
Lara Khider, Acting Executive Director with the Australian Centre for International Justice, said:
“Sanctions are only as strong as their enforcement. The AFP’s investigation is an important step in ensuring that Australian companies cannot profit from activities that undermine Australia’s sanctions regime.”
“Where there are credible allegations that a company continued to operate and generate revenue from Russian coal after sanctions were imposed, those matters must be thoroughly investigated.”
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Tigers Realm has continued, through its Russian subsidiaries, to mine, load and sell Russian coal. According to its 2023 Annual Financial Report, Tigers Realm indicated it had achieved a production level of 1,601 thousand tonnes of coal, of which 1,068 thousand tonnes were delivered to its Russian port. Tigers Realm further noted that it had generated over AUD $140 million in total revenue from the sale and shipment of its coal. Three of Tigers Realm’s Russian subsidiaries have paid around AU $13 million in taxes and fees to the Russian state between 2018 and 2021 and set aside millions more in future royalty liabilities.
Russian coal has been an import sanctioned good in Australia since March 2022.
One of Tigers Realm’s main shareholders is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) – a Russian Sovereign Wealth Fund setup by Putin – which is a sanctioned entity in Australia, US, UK and Canada.
Timeline of events:
- In April 2023, Tigers Realm disagreed with DFAT’s assessment that its mining operations were likely to be prohibited under Australia’s sanctions laws, instead stating that they were considering applying for a permit.
- On 21 June 2023, the Australian Centre for International Justice, Transparency International Australia, and Razom We Stand publicly urged the government to refuse a sanctions permit to Tigers Realm, arguing that this would not be in Australia’s national interest and could undermine the broader objectives of Australia’s sanctions regime against Russia.
- On 22 June 2023, Tigers Realm filed an application in the Federal Court of Australia, seeking declarations that Australia’s sanctions laws do not apply to its coal mining activities in Russia.
- On 4 July 2023, Tigers Realm made an ASX announcement, stating that its potential privatisation and delisting from the ASX were being suspended.
- On 4 March 2024, the hearing in relation to Tigers Realm’s court action commenced.
- On 9 April 2024, the Federal Court dismissed Tigers Realm’s application, finding that the activities of the company’s subsidiaries in producing and transporting coal for import into third countries from Russia are captured by Australia’s sanctions laws. The Court also ordered that Tigers Realm pay the Commonwealth’s costs.
- On April 15 2024, Tigers Realm announced to the ASX that it had taken steps to sell its Russian subsidiaries, in a proposed US$49-million (AU$75.8-million) share purchase agreement with APM-Invest LLC, a Russian incorporated company wholly owned by Russian businessman Mark Buzuk a previous business associate of sanctioned oligarchs, Viktor Vekselberg and Alisher Usmanov.
- On 2 March 2026, Tigers Realm delisted from the ASX due to the company failing to lodge its required periodic reports for more than a year beyond the deadline.
- On 7 March 2026, Nine Media reports that the AFP is investigating Tigers Realm for breach of Australian sanctions law
Photo: Marina Sycheva