Investigations
Russia has successfully found ways to bypass the $60 price cap on oil set in December 2022 by the G7 countries, earning an extra $53 billion from this strategy in just the first three quarters of 2024. Oil is being purchased above the cap by intermediary companies from the UAE and Hong Kong, as well as by national oil companies from India, Turkey, and China. Moreover, as The Insider has discovered, ships leaving Russian oil terminals in the Baltic are being lightened in European waters — despite a ban on importing Russian oil into Europe by sea. European ship owners are also involved in these schemes.
Between Catania and Syracuse, on the picturesque eastern coast of Sicily, lies the Augusta maritime terminal. Tankers that have previously visited Russian oil terminals still regularly dock here. Near the Augusta port is an oil refinery that was once owned by Lukoil — Russia’s second-largest oil company.
When a tanker unloads, its draft decreases, and changes in draft can be seen in the MarineTraffic system (although this data is not always complete and accurate). According to this system, at least 20 tankers that came from Russian oil ports in the Baltic Sea either visited or reduced their draft at or around Mediterranean ports last year, as calculated by The Insider. In addition to the Augusta port, ships have used the Sicilian port of Milazzo, as well as ports in Trieste and the waters near Malta. Many ships that passed by Italy continued sailing to the Bay of Laconia and sometimes also headed for Turkey and/or Alexandria. While a reduction in the draft of these tankers is not always visible in the database, the fact that the ships approached Italian ports suggests they unloaded oil there. Otherwise, there would be no reason for the vessels to waste time and money by docking, changing course, and remaining anchored.
Russia “cracks” the price cap
Since the start of the full-scale war in 2022, most EU countries — along with the U.S., the UK, and Canada — have imposed an embargo on purchasing Russian crude oil delivered by sea. However, in late 2022, when it became clear that Russia had successfully adapted to these restrictions, the G7 countries, the EU, and Australia introduced a price cap for oil. Companies from these countries — brokers, shipowners, and insurers — were prohibited from servicing sea shipments of Russian crude oil if it was purchased for more than $60 per barrel.
However, Russian oil export data obtained by The Insider (for January-September 2024) shows that Moscow has successfully circumvented this cap. According to Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, Russia sold 1,735 billion barrels of oil in 2024. Export data indicates that more than 730 million of these barrels were transported by sea and sold at prices above the $60 cap. The total revenue from “above-cap” oil amounted to around $53 billion, with the average price of such oil being $73 per barrel. The revenue from the difference between the actual price and the cap price exceeded $9.5 billion.
Tankers head to Europe
Tankers heading to Europe often begin their journey in Ust-Luga and Primorsk, on the shores of the Gulf of Finland. In 2024, tankers in the Russian part of the Gulf of Finland were loaded with oil about 1,000 times (based on draft changes recorded in the MarineTraffic system). In around 100 instances, these ships continued on to the Mediterranean, where their draft decreased (meaning that unless there was transponder manipulation, they unloaded their cargo).
A list of ships and their affiliated companies according to MarineTraffic data.
In some cases, unloading occurred near European ports or alongside another ship at sea (which could indicate oil was being transshipped from vessel to vessel). Far more frequently — more than 350 times — tankers that had taken on oil in the Gulf of Finland ended up on the shores of India or Pakistan, where their draft was seen to decrease.
A significant portion of Russian oil is shipped eastward, particularly via the Far Eastern port of Kozmino, from which cargoes primarily go to China.
Who buys above-cap oil?
On paper, the “trading country” listed in customs declarations for oil is most often the UAE, Hong Kong, and India. Following them — though lagging significantly behind members of the first group — are Turkey, Singapore, and China. However, the “trading country” field should be understood as the country where the buyer is formally registered. The oil does not necessarily go to that country.
Where does the oil really go?
Destination countries for the supply of Russian above-cap oil transported by tanker (volume of above-cap oil shown).
Physically, above-cap oil is primarily directed to India and China. Among the main actual consumers, Turkey ranks third, with smaller volumes going to Myanmar, the UAE, South Korea, Brunei, and Egypt, according to customs data. However, cases of transshipment of oil from ship to ship directly at sea are common, meaning it is not entirely certain that the information provided in the customs declarations corresponds with reality.
“Clean” dealers
The list of companies purchasing Russian oil is led by the “clean” dealer Litasco Middle East DMCC (now renamed LME Trading DMCC), an affiliate of Lukoil, with 169 million barrels purchased above the price cap in 2024. Lukoil Asia Pacific Pte Ltd. also figures as an importer — albeit one with relatively small trading volumes.
Companies purchasing Russian oil (in descending order of purchase volume).
Litasco Middle East DMCC also leads by the share of revenue derived from above-cap purchases.
Mysterious giants
In second place is Hong Kong’s Guron Trading Limited, which industry media reported as being a participant in the gray market as early as 2023. On Jan. 10, 2025, this company was sanctioned. Its director, according to the Hong Kong registry, is Pakistani citizen Zaman Noor, and the beneficiary is allegedly Cyprus-based Sierra Holding Limited, with a contact person named Michael Kyprianou located in Dubai. However, a company with this exact name (Sierra Holding Limited) cannot be localized in any jurisdiction. It is possible that it refers to a Cyprus or Panama-based company with a similar name. The company’s domain was registered in 2022.
An even more mysterious company ranks fourth among buyers of Russian above-cap oil: Disentis Trading LLC FZ. Judging by its name, it should be registered in Dubai. There is no information available about its directors or beneficiaries, yet it purchased more than 40 million barrels of Russian oil in 2024.
A similar Dubai-based company without known beneficiaries or directors — Eterra Crude Oil Abroad Trading LLC (fifth place in the ranking of above-cap buyers), with an enormous trading turnover (42 million tons of above-cap oil in 2024) — was sanctioned by the U.S. on Jan. 10, 2025.
National companies
Large national corporations are also among the buyers of Russian above-cap oil. These include Indian Oil Corporation Limited (third place in the ranking), Turkiye Petrol Rafinerileri As (Tupras), Chinaoil (Hong Kong) Corporation Limited, a subsidiary of the Chinese China National United Oil Corporation, and Unipec Asia Company Limited, a subsidiary of the state-owned China International United Petroleum & Chemicals Co. Ltd.
Well-hidden entities
Vertex Enterprise Limited, which is linked to the previously mentioned Michael Kyprianou, purchased 35 million barrels of above-cap oil in 2024, placing it sixth in the ranking. In seventh place is Hong Kong’s Blackford Corporation Limited, the only known director of which is Sajid Manzoor. There is no information in the registers about the Dubai-based company Rubus FZE, which bought 19 million barrels of above-cap oil and ranked ninth. The managers of Dubai’s Apexis Energy FZE (tenth place) also remain a mystery; its shareholders were previously someone named Aysel Demirkaya, and since January 2024, Tulkinjon Turgunov. Amur Investments Limited, which bought similar volumes of above-cap oil, also has no known beneficiaries or managers. In total, fairly large importers under the control of unknown beneficiaries — Vertex, Blackford, Rubus, Apexis Energy, Amur Investments — are not under sanctions.
But there are exceptions. Black Pearl Energy Trading LLC-FZ, the subject of a previous investigation by The Insider, was sanctioned at the end of 2024, along with its beneficiary, Aleksejs Haļavins. A similar Emirati company in terms of import volume, Demex Trading Limited DMCC, was sanctioned in January 2025. The same sanctions package also included the Emirati Pratum Oil Trading LLC (directors and owners unknown).
The Insider sent inquiries to Chinaoil (Hong Kong) Corporation Limited, Indian Oil Corporation, Turkiye Petrol Rafinerileri, Guron Trading, and Pratum Oil Trading. No contact information for the other companies is publicly available.
Who are the importers' partners in Russia?
Although we often do not know who the formal beneficiary is of companies in Hong Kong or Dubai, the mysterious buyers can sometimes be identified by their main Russian suppliers. The list includes all of Russia's largest producers.
The Insider sent inquiries to the companies that listed publicly available contact information. LITASCO responded that LME Trading DMCC (formerly LITASCO Middle East DMCC) withdrew from the LITASCO Group in 2022:
“LITASCO SA does not own nor control LME Trading DMCC, and the two companies have their own separate activities. Both companies are LUKOIL Group affiliates. [...] LITASCO SA did not purchase any seaborne Russian origin crude oil in 2024. [...] LITASCO SA acts in full compliance with all applicable laws in the countries where it operates.”
LME Trading DMCC did not respond to The Insider's inquiry.
Greek tankers
A significant share of the tankers facilitating Russia's oil exports are Greek-owned. These vessels are frequently registered under obscure shell companies, providing little publicly available information about their true ownership. However, among the various company names whose ships have traveled from the Russian part of the Gulf of Finland to the Mediterranean — and lightened in the process — one company stands out: TMS Tankers. According to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, TMS Tankers was previously owned by billionaire George Economou, and British shipping journal Lloyd’s List writes that Economou is still the company’s beneficial owner. Tankers from the Cardiff Marine company, partially owned by George’s sister, Chrysoula Kandylidis, also sailed from Russian oil ports in the Baltic and then lightened in or around Europe. Overall, the Economou family is linked to 11 out of 21 tankers that lightened in European waters (or even in European ports) after visiting Ust-Luga or Primorsk. The family is also connected to Dryships Inc.
The Greek billionaire Melissanidis family (Aegean Shipping Management SA) and the Gialozoglou family (IMS SA) also had individual ships that reduced their drafts in European waters after visiting Russian oil terminals.
Aegean Shipping Management denies the accusations that their ship, Green Aura, was involved in the illegal transport of Russian oil. According to the company, the ship “was chartered for a long time by a major cargo trader and made three visits to Russian ports in 2024. In each case, the trade was fully legal, fully compliant with existing rules, and the cargo’s origin was Kazakhstan, not Russia.”
However, Aegean Shipping Management did not explain why the Green Aura left Rosneftbunker in the Baltic on Feb. 27, 2024, and then entered the aforementioned port of Milazzo (Sicily) on March 13 of the same year.
Joining this party is Lagosmarine, the company of sanctioned Latvian businessman Aleksejs Haļavins — a figure extensively profiled by The Insider.
The Insider also sent inquiries to TMS Tankers, IMS, and Cardiff Marine. As of this writing, no response has been received. The Insider also made several dozen calls to TMS Tankers, speaking multiple times with employees of the company.
Maria Chernykh contributed to this article.
The Insider thanks MarineTraffic for providing access to its search engine and databases.