Ghost companies, ghost tankers, real billions: how Tahir Garayev and Etibar Eyyub kept Igor Sechin's oil moving under sanctions
A large shadow oil trading network led by Tahir Garayev and Etibar Eyyub, linked to Igor Sechin, has been targeted by UK sanctions for trading Russian sanctioned oil.
The list includes 175 companies linked to the shadow traders and the 2RIVERS GROUP (formerly CORAL ENERGY GROUP) network, as well as 48 tankers transporting oil. In total, at least $90 billion worth of oil has passed through Garayev & Co.'s hands in the past few months alone. It turns out that the empire of sanctioned oil traders includes not only the Azerbaijani segment, but also the Uzbek one.
After Etibar Eyyub and Garayev's first companies were sanctioned and effectively unable to operate, oil traders began creating new companies en masse, processing several shipments of Russian oil through them, and then liquidating the legal entities to cut ties. Crude oil was typically documented as “export blend” with no country of origin specified.
To create a business of this scale (including a network of short-lived companies), new, “under-the-radar” managers were needed. Their partners were found in Uzbekistan. Most of the companies included in the new UK sanctions list appear unrelated at first glance—they are registered at different addresses and in different countries. However, most of them have websites offering services and contact information (the websites are currently offline, but the email addresses on the domains are still active). These domains turned out to be linked to a shared server, which British investigators used to uncover the entire network.
One of the top managers of the Garayev-Eyyub network is Azerbaijani citizen Bilal Aliyev, who bought the Hong Kong company Bellatrix Energy from its previous owners in 2022 and began trading with Igor Sechin's Rosneft, transporting oil to countries in Asia and Africa. In December 2022, Bellatrix Energy Ltd. received an average of 151,000 barrels of oil daily. Payments for the goods were transferred to it by, among others, Rosselkhozbank and the Regional Development Bank, where the company had large credit lines.
Aliyev's activities were previously known, but it has since been revealed that he controls several other legal entities: Allegro Development Limited, Foxton FZCO, Disentis Trading Limited, Alroy Holdings Limited, Omni Marine and Transport, Zenith Global Corporation Limited, Zenrock Holding Limited, and Lumira Capital Limited FZE. Apparently, through him, Garayev's network is connected to a structure within Azerbaijan's state oil and gas company, SOCAR. For example, Disentis Trading Limited is believed to be a link in the chain of companies belonging to former SOCAR top manager Adnan Ahmedzad. He was detained by Azerbaijani security forces last year, and the case involves his counterparties from Azerbaijan, Malta, Cyprus, and Albania.
Foxton FZCO's director is Uzbek citizen Islombek Blakhatov, who also manages several other companies: Al-Tasmeem Group FZE, Birchwood Resources, and Shreevaani Exim FZE. Another manager in the oil trading network is his compatriot, Feruzabonu Abdullayev (listed as the director of Zenrock Global Corporation Ltd and Disentis Trading Limited).
Additionally, four companies are registered to a certain Umid Mokhomodzhanov: Skyion Solutions FZE, Newton Resources FZE, EcoMatrix Oil and Commodity FZE, and Totcor Trade FZE. He also became the director of Vault Energy Resources DMCC, Sentura GLobal FZE, and Navratan Ventures FZE. These companies are on the new UK sanctions list.
Abdilkholim Yuldashov (whose companies include Fusion Flux Energy, Fadas Trade, Tanzhouli Integrated FZE, RafflonLine FZE, Ethos Dynamics FZE, and Colwhich Continental FZE) and Dastonbek Isakov (TradeStream FZE, Rockwell Energy, Ossydey Integrated FZE, and Marinex Trade FZE) also became employees of the “Uzbek cluster.”
After 175 companies were sanctioned, Tahir Garayev and Etibar Eyyub are now in a busy time: they need to fill the missing links in the chain and find new nominees and managers for Sechin's oil. Companies will likely be registered in the UAE and Hong Kong in batches again.
Anton Panteleev
Special Correspondent
Conducts investigations into organized crime and shadow businesses. Works with leaked documents, registries, and financial statements.
