(Dec 15): The European Union sanctioned a prominent Pakistani oil trading tycoon and an influential Azeri merchant, part of a fresh round of measures targeting Russia over its war against Ukraine.
Murtaza Lakhani, a discreet but key figure in the global oil trade, was added to the bloc’s sanctions list for his alleged role in the Russian oil trade, the EU said. Etibar Eyyub, Valery Kildiyarov, Talat Safarov and Anar Madatli were also added.
Lakhani declined to comment, while Eyyub didn’t immediately respond to a request to do so.
A Bloomberg News investigation in 2023 documented how Lakhani, a Karachi native who was raised in England and Canada, played a central role in Russia’s global oil business.
In alliance with Rosneft PJSC boss Igor Sechin, Lakhani helped set up a web of firms to steer the country’s barrels to customers around the world in the wake of sanctions. At the time, lawyers for Lakhani said neither he nor any business in which he has an interest was trading Russian oil.
More recently, a feud between Lakhani and his Azeri competitors cost Rosneft and the Russian state billions of dollars, Bloomberg News reported in October.
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The two players who were estimated to move the vast majority of Rosneft’s crude were trying to expose each other’s Russian links in a bid to trigger Western sanctions.
A Rosneft spokesperson said at the time that all of its partners have solid reputations and hold strong positions in the global market but they couldn’t rule out the possibility that some people might spread false information to advance their own interests.
Azeri national Eyyub was sanctioned by the UK in May but hasn’t been individually sanctioned by the US. Lakhani has not been designated by the US or the UK.
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