America Gave India a Russian Oil Waiver. India: 'We Buy Anyway’

On May 19, 2026, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent issued a 30-day sanctions waiver — Indian refiners could buy Russian oil. The waiver was the third extension, expiring June 17. Bessent's stated rationale: "To provide the most vulnerable nations with the ability to temporarily access Russian oil currently stranded at sea." WHY THE WAIVER MATTERED After Iran shut the Strait of Hormuz on February 28, 2026, India — the world's third-largest oil importer — lost 3 million barrels a day of Middle East crude. Reliance and Indian Oil Corporation each grabbed 10 million barrels in panic. The IEA called it the biggest oil supply disruption in history. THE WAIVER OPENED THE DOOR Russian crude poured into India via Novorossiysk → Bosphorus → Suez → Bab el-Mandeb → Arabian Sea → Mundra (Adani's port). 2.3 million barrels a day in the first two weeks of May 2026 — a record (Kpler). Russian oil now ~half of India's imports. INDIA'S RESPONSE Petroleum Ministry Joint Secretary Sujata Sharma told reporters: "Regarding American waiver on Russia, I would like to emphasise that we have been purchasing from Russia before waiver also, during waiver, and now also." Translation: India didn't need permission. They were always going to buy. The waiver was symbolic. Indian refining capacity — including the Rosneft-owned Nayara refinery at Vadinar — was always going to absorb Russian crude. America just decided not to fight it. Follow Money Maps for more geopolitics, mapped out. Sources: • @SecScottBessent X post — Treasury 30-day Russian oil waiver (May 19, 2026) • Al Jazeera (May 19, 2026) — waiver extension to June 17 • Kpler — 2.3M bpd Russian crude into India (first half of May 2026) • PTI / TheSecretariat — Sujata Sharma official statement • ThePrint — "Waiver or no waiver, Russian crude remains centrepiece" • Bloomberg — India 2.3M bpd record #india #russia #russianoil #ofac #sanctions #waiver #bessent #treasury #hormuz #iran #sharma #reliance #nayara #rosneft #geopolitics #moneymaps #shorts