WASHINGTON (AP) – Exxon Mobil Corp. showed “reckless disregard” for U.S. sanctions on Russia while Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was the oil giant’s CEO, the Treasury Department said Thursday. The U.S. fined the company $2 million.
Treasury said that Exxon violated sanctions when it signed contracts in May 2014 with Russian oil magnate Igor Sechin, chairman of government-owned energy giant Rosneft. The U.S. blacklisted Sechin, Tillerson’s longtime business associate, as part of its response to Moscow’s actions in Ukraine and annexation of Crimea.
The same month that Exxon signed the deals, Tillerson said the company generally opposes sanctions and finds them “ineffective.”
As America’s top diplomat, Tillerson has insisted the sanctions will stay in place until Russia reverses course in Ukraine and gives back Crimea. Still, the sanctions breach on his watch raises significant questions about his ability to credibly enforce the sanctions and to persuade European countries to keep doing so.
Exxon, in a statement, countered that it had done nothing wrong and complained that the fine was unfair. The State Department declined to comment on Tillerson’s role, referring all questions to Exxon.