‘Part of the propaganda’: Canberra urged to block Russian athletes over ties to sanctioned oligarchs

Russian athletes set to controversially compete in Australia within weeks have direct links to sanctioned organisations and oligarchs, which threatens to pose legal and diplomatic dilemmas for the federal government under its sanctions laws.

The Russian women’s national water polo team is due to appear under its flag, anthem and national colours at the sport’s world cup at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre in July after World Aquatics overturned a ban on Moscow in April. The decision marks one of the most significant returns of Russian national representation to international sport since the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. It has triggered a boycott of hosting events by several European countries.

The Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations, which is fiercely opposed to the move, is calling for intensive visa and security scrutiny for all Russian athletes, officials and support personnel travelling to Sydney. It is asking whether they are connected to entities already targeted under sanctions.

AFUO chair Kateryna Argyrou said Russia’s participation could not be separated from its war against Ukraine, nor from the documented use of elite sport by Vladimir Putin’s regime as a “tool of propaganda, prestige and international legitimisation”.

The team that qualified for Sydney at the Division II World Cup tournament in Malta this year included captain Ekaterina Prokofyeva, along with several players drawn from KINEF-Surgutneftegas, a dominant force in Russian women’s water polo.

The club is financially backed by Surgutneftegas, one of Russia’s largest oil producers. Surgutneftegas appears on Australia’s sanctions list, as does its long-time director-general, oil tycoon Vladimir Bogdanov.

Ukraine and Estonia have urged Australia to follow the European Union by imposing stricter restrictions on Russian oil, known as “blood oil”, entering the nation via third countries as a parliamentary inquiry probes ways to toughen Australia’s sanctions regime against Russia.

At the national level, Russia’s water polo program sits within the Russian Aquatics Federation, headed by Dmitry Mazepin, another individual sanctioned under Australia’s measures.

Mazepin, a Belarusian-Russian oligarch who amassed wealth in the chemical and fertiliser sectors, is not expected to travel to Sydney and there is no suggestion any athlete is personally designated under Australian sanctions.

But a leading sanctions expert says Australia’s broad regime could also extend to athletes who are employed by teams owned or run by entities or individuals. Under Aust