Russia says Turkish leadership involved in illegal oil trade with ISIS

Turkey’s leadership, including President Erdogan and his family, is involved in illegal oil trade with so-called “Islamic State” terrorists, says the Russian Defense Ministry, stressing that Turkey is the final destination for oil smuggled from Syria and Iraq, according to RT

According to Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov, Russia is aware of three main oil smuggling routes to Turkey.

  “Today, we are presenting only some of the facts that confirm that a whole team of bandits and Turkish elites stealing oil from their neighbors is operating in the region,” Antonov said, adding that this oil “in large quantities” enters the territory of Turkey via “live oil pipelines,” consisting of thousands of oil trucks.

Antonov added that Turkey is the main buyer of smuggled oil coming from Iraq and Syria.

“According to our data, the top political leadership of the country – President Erdogan and his family – is involved in this criminal business.”

However, since the start of Russia’s anti-terrorist operation in Syria on September 30, the income of the “Islamic State” (IS, formerly ISIS) militants from illegal oil smuggling has been significantly reduced, the ministry said.

“The income of this terrorist organization was about $3 million per day. After two months of Russian airstrikes their income was about $1.5 million a day,” Lieutenant-General Sergey Rudskoy said.

The US-led coalition is not bombing IS oil trucks, Rudskoy said.

The Russian Defense Ministry held a major briefing on new findings concerning IS funding in Moscow on Wednesday.

H.M