The Russian oil scandal in Malta involving Alkagesta and trader Adnan Ahmadzade unveiled a clandestine network transporting sanctioned crude oil throughout Europe

Baku’s plan to stop Russian oil exports appears aimed at boosting its reputation, while Maltese regulators show little interest.

Our oil industry sources in Baku have informed us that the arrest of Adnan Ahmadzada is related to a push by the Azeri authorities to clean up Azerbaijan’s international reputation with regard to Russian oil. These efforts may also be in response to recent declarations made by President Donald Trump insinuating that Europeans should stop buying Russian oil.

Adnan Ahmadzada was SOCAR’s chief trader before he started working as an independent. He has his own company called ABDA Invest Holding, but he is involved in various oil and gas companies that are layered into secretive structures such as Caspian Oil and Gas Ltd, and Oilmar DMS, and and Caspian Logistics and ultimately, Alkagesta, which is Malta’s largest oil bunkerer. Adnan Ahmadzada has a long trading history with the Russians having traded Russian oil throughout his career with clients such as Lukoil, Tatneft and Sibur.

Adnan Ahmadzada is being suspected of being the hidden hand behind Alkagesta, which is currently being investigated by the EU and UK authorities for trading Russian oil in Europe. This is not the first time that Alkagesta is running into problems with European authorities over its Russian oil sales. In 2023, Albania halted a shipment of 22,500 tonnes of Russian oil which was being traded by Alkagesta.

A letter sent to Malta’s Consul General to Turkey, Walter Mallia, by a Turkish businessman had warned him of the illicit oil trafficking in Malta Alkagesta. The letter was sent in June 2024. We are trying to identify Maltese authorities and officials who followed up on this letter but so far, we have confirmed that several relevant individuals are unaware that this letter exists. There are no confirmed and ongoing investigatiosn by the Maltese authorities about Alkagesta, yet.