SCT Chemicals FZE, a Dubai-based manufacturer of lubricants under the Mannol and SCT brands, has issued an official statement in response to a series of articles published by The Insider and its partner Siena in July and August 2026. The company categorically rejects allegations of links to Russia’s defense industry and confirms that not a single liter of its products has been manufactured for or supplied to the entities named in the reports. Its challenge to the sanctions imposed by the Council of the EU is actively under way.
GROUNDS FOR SANCTIONS: A MARKETING OFFER, NOT ACTUAL DELIVERIES
On April 23, 2026, SCT Chemicals FZE was added to the EU sanctions list. The Council of the EU sanctioned the company on the allegation that it manufactures an additive package specifically designed for oils intended for diesel engines produced by Russia’s Kolomensky Plant. In reality, the company merely advertised its ability to produce this additive package and never manufactured it.
“We are being accused of something we did not do. We did advertise a potential product for use in oils made by international manufacturers, but we never produced a single liter of it. The company has never signed a supply agreement with the Kolomensky Plant or any other Russian enterprise. We have never shipped goods to them, either directly or through intermediaries. The sanctions were imposed on the basis that we could theoretically have produced something. By that logic, thousands of European manufacturers whose products appear in publicly available catalogues should also be sanctioned,” the company said in its statement.
Moreover, SCT Chemicals FZE specializes in producing motor oil additives for passenger and commercial vehicles, which motor oil manufacturers in turn use to make their own products. The Kolomensky Plant, which is not a motor oil manufacturer, has no commercial relationship of any kind with SCT Chemicals.
IMPACT: COMPANY OPERATIONS FROZEN
Since its designation, SCT Chemicals FZE’s operations have effectively come to a halt and will remain frozen until the proceedings conclude. The measures have caused the company significant financial losses and damaged its business reputation.
TIMELINE OF THE CHALLENGE
Since the sanctions were imposed, the company has acted consistently, in full compliance with EU procedures and within the prescribed deadlines:
April 23, 2026 — The Council of the EU added SCT Chemicals FZE to the sanctions list (Decision (CFSP) 2026/504 and Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/509). From that date, two parallel avenues of defence became available to the company: an administrative route through the Council of the EU and a judicial route through the General Court of the EU.
April 24, 2026 — The very next day, the company requested access to the case file from the Council of the EU.
May 19, 2026 — The Council of the EU provided the company with a dossier containing the Council’s materials.
May 20, 2026 — The company received a registered letter from the Council of the EU dated April 27, 2026, the formal notification of the measures imposed, delivered almost a month late.
July 6, 2026 — Through the administrative procedure, the company submitted a reasoned request to the Council of the EU to review its decision and remove the company from the sanctions list.
July 30, 2026 — Within the prescribed deadline, the company filed an action with the General Court of the European Union seeking annulment of the sanctions and compensation for damages (Case T-492/26, SCT Chemicals v Council).
September 22, 2026 — The Council of the EU extended the sanctions regime by 36 months, to September 22, 2029. SCT Chemicals FZE was kept on the sanctions list with the same statement of reasons as in April 2026. The Council presented no new evidence, and the arguments the company set out in its objections of July 6, 2026, and its action of July 30, 2026, went unanswered.
September 23, 2026 — The Council of the EU published a notice in the Official Journal of the European Union addressed to all persons remaining on the sanctions lists, including SCT Chemicals FZE. The notice confirms the company’s right to seek delisting, including through a new request for review. The Council set May 3, 2029, as the deadline for such requests.
LEGAL POSITION AND NEXT STEPS
SCT Chemicals FZE’s legal team maintains that the restrictive measures fail to meet the required standard of proof: no delivery of products subject to EU sanctions to any listed recipient has been established, documented, or put to the company.
Litigation is ongoing. The company plans to challenge the latest extension of the sanctions in court as part of the pending proceedings, and to submit a new administrative request for review to the Council of the EU.
“SCT Chemicals FZE is ready to give any regulatory authority full access to its internal documentation. We have nothing to hide, because there have been no violations,” the company said in its official position.
ABOUT THE COMPANY
SCT Chemicals FZE is a lubricant manufacturer registered in Dubai, UAE. The company produces lubricants sold in markets across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. SCT Chemicals FZE is a legally separate entity with its own independent management, legal department, and operational processes. The company operates as a fully independent legal entity. It is not part of any corporate group and is managed autonomously.
Media contact:
Aliona Mikhaileuskaya
mikhaileuskaya.alena@gmail.com | +971585839448
SCT Chemicals, S60307, Jebel Ali Freezone, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
