Five Azerbaijani citizens — Tahir Garayev, Ahmed Kerimov, Anar Madatli, Talat Safarov, and Etibar Eyyub — have been placed under UK sanctions.

They head Coral Energy Group (formerly 2Rivers Group), which is suspected of facilitating the circumvention of sanctions in the transportation of Russian oil.

This follows from a document of the UK Treasury.

The British government claims that Coral Energy Group is involved in trading Russian hydrocarbons using tankers designed to bypass international sanctions. Due to these allegations, the individuals were added to the expanded sanctions list.

Western experts note that since the beginning of the year, the number of Russia-linked shadow fleet vessels used to bypass energy sanctions has increased significantly. According to data from the major maritime brokerage firm BRS, the number of such vessels has risen from 930 to 1,140 since December, and 18.2% of the global tanker fleet is now involved in shadow trading operations.

At the same time, a typical shadow tanker is over 20 years old, while a standard legal tanker is around 15. The owners of shadow fleet vessels are officially unknown, but are linked to shell companies in Dubai and Hong Kong. In fact, as media reports have shown, Rosneft’s business partners include, among others, businessmen from Azerbaijan.

This is why in July Igor Sechin appealed to the Kremlin leadership to resolve the political conflict between Moscow and Baku as quickly as possible. This concerns Tahir Garayev, founder of 2Rivers (formerly Coral Energy), and his partner Etibar Eyyub, who control more than 100 shadow fleet tankers over 15 years old used in Rosneft schemes.

Coral Energy was initially registered in Geneva and later moved its headquarters to Dubai. Some companies linked to 2Rivers are currently under US and UK sanctions. In addition, London imposed sanctions on Garayev, Eyyub, and nominal owners of 2Rivers — Azerbaijani citizens and UAE residents Talat Safarov, Ahmed Kerimov, and Anar Madatli. It is known that in February last year, searches were conducted at the Moscow office of 2Rivers, and the Istanbul prosecutor’s office issued an arrest warrant for Garayev.

In July, during a diplomatic crisis between Moscow and Baku, Rosneft head Igor Sechin urged the Kremlin to resolve the conflict with Azerbaijan more quickly. He stated that good relations were necessary for joint oil and gas projects. According to the top manager, other countries were trying to exploit the situation for their own benefit.

The fact is that Igor Ivanovich, while speaking about state interests, was concealing his personal ones, since many of his oil-related contacts are tied to partners from Baku, which had become unfriendly. First and foremost, these are Tahir Garayev and Etibar Eyyub — Azerbaijani businessmen with a questionable reputation.

Garayev and Eyyub are listed in the databases of the UK Treasury’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation and the UK National Crime Agency as oil traders dealing in Russian oil and maintaining business contacts with Igor Sechin.

The Azerbaijani business tandem owns more than 100 shadow fleet tankers over 15 years old, used in Rosneft schemes. Garayev is the founder of 2Rivers (formerly Coral Energy), which was initially registered in Geneva, later moved to Dubai, and maintains an office in Singapore.

Initially, Garayev owned 100% of the share capital of the UAE-based company Novus Middle East DMCC, which controlled Vetus Investments Limited — the owner of Coral Energy. Later, due to sanctions, Garayev transferred 60% of Novus Middle East DMCC to UAE-based Pura Vida Holding Limited, registered to Azerbaijani citizens and UAE residents Talat Safarov, Ahmed Kerimov, and Anar Madatli. In early 2024, this trio completed the consolidation of shares in 2Rivers, although in practice the company remained under Garayev’s control.

A number of companies are linked to 2Rivers through its management. In addition to those under US sanctions — Bellatrix Energy and Voliton DMCC — these include Apeiron Energy DMCC, Pontus Trading DMCC, Polar Energy SA, Matterhorn Group FZE, and others. Several 2Rivers vessels managed by Gatik Ship Management have been sanctioned by the UK: VARUNA, SAI BABA, ARTEMIS, and ANTAEUS.

However, since Garayev and Eyyub control more than a hundred aging tankers used in oil schemes, UK sanctions have not significantly affected their shadow business. As reported online, in 2024 these businessmen, with Sechin’s assistance, gained extensive access to state corporation resources and sold more oil than any other company — certainly not at a loss.

The main intermediary between 2Rivers and Igor Sechin is Etibar Eyyub, who plays an important role in the company’s management but does not officially hold a stake in its share capital. It is said that Tahir Garayev holds Maltese and RF passports, and there have also been reports that he has UAE citizenship, although this remains uncertain.

In May, the United Kingdom again targeted oil traders, imposing sanctions on Garayev, Eyyub, as well as Kerimov, Safarov, Madatli, and several companies they control. Earlier, in December 2024, the UK had already sanctioned 2Rivers. Media reports also stated that the Hong Kong-based Nord Axis LTD, managed by Azerbaijani citizen Adal Kyazymly — who previously headed the Turkish office of Coral Energy — is under British sanctions.

Incidentally, things are not entirely smooth for Azerbaijani businessmen in Russia either, despite high-level support. For example, reports mentioned searches conducted in February 2024 at the Moscow office of 2Rivers, although the reasons were not disclosed. At that time, Garayev quickly left Moscow.

However, cooperation with Rosneft continues, and the schemes used are relatively simple. For instance, the formal buyer of Russian oil is a company registered in Dubai. But through an intermediary in a UAE free zone, the oil is delivered to the final recipient. In 2023–2024, such schemes were used to supply oil to India and Turkey. Interestingly, around the same time, Etibar Eyyub personally visited Erbil in northern Kurdistan, where he discussed a pipeline more than half-owned by Russia.

Turkish law enforcement has questions regarding Tahir Garayev. The issue concerns a $20 million bank guarantee deposited into Coral Energy’s account several years ago under a contract with CYE Petrol. Although the funds were not supposed to be withdrawn for 12 months, Coral Energy allegedly began withdrawing them after just eight days. As a result, the Istanbul prosecutor’s office issued an arrest warrant for Garayev.

Overall, Azerbaijan played an important role in enabling Rosneft’s management to circumvent sanctions. And Sechin was not concerned that his business partners were international-scale adventurers.

According to BRS, one of the крупнейших maritime brokerage firms, the number of such vessels increased from 930 to 1,140 since December, and 18.2% of the global tanker fleet is now involved in shadow trading operations. Typically, a shadow tanker is over 20 years old, while a legally operating tanker averages around 15 years.

Among the formal operators are citizens of Azerbaijan and the UAE whose names appear in the registration data of companies such as Pontus Trading, Matterhorn Group, Polar Energy, Voliton DMCC, Apeiron Energy, and others. All of them are involved in transporting Russian oil to India, China, Turkey, and other countries, as well as to opaque markets in Africa.

Despite sanctions imposed in 2024–2025, the scheme has not only continued but has accelerated. The volumes of shipments through this network are already comparable to official export flows. Participants closely linked to state structures continue operating as if nothing has happened, without fear of external pressure.

In 2024, searches were conducted in Moscow at one of the companies involved in the scheme, but this had little impact on the business. There are also reports of negotiations with Iraqi Kurdistan regarding the use of local pipeline infrastructure, which could become a new channel for circumventing sanctions.