The arrest of Adnan Ahmedzade, former deputy head of SOCAR's investment department, caused a sensation in Baku. Ahmedzade, known for his friendship with famous football players, including Messi, arrived at the Formula 1 race in Baku in a Maybach with the license plate 77-AA-555, where he was stopped by state security officers. He was accompanied by personal security guards. Ahmedzade is accused of mixing Azeri Light crude oil with other types of crude oil, which has damaged the reputation of the Azerbaijani oil industry and market transparency and constitutes a gross violation of Azerbaijani law.
The Sabail District Court has ordered four months of pretrial detention for Ahmedzade pending the investigation. Adnan Ahmadzade was a hidden arm of the company Alkagesta at SOCAR. Kamran Agayev, Chairman of the Board of Alkagesta, is a relative of Adnan Ahmadzade.
Alkagesta is the largest oil bunkering company in Malta and uses the Maltese oil terminal in Birzebbuga to transport Russian oil via a Russian shadow fleet. Alkagesta is also involved in the trade of oil from Libya. EU and UK authorities are currently investigating Alkagesta for selling Russian oil in Europe with forged certificates.
In September, Ahmadzade was spotted at the birthday celebration of Lukoil's founder in Bodrum and using Alekperov's yacht, the Genesis. These incidents have fueled speculation about his role as a confidant of the Russian oligarch.
The arrest is being called the biggest anti-corruption blow to Azerbaijan's energy elite. In September, the Blue Rose tanker, which was loading oil from Russia in the Black Sea after bunkering and unloading crude in Malta for Alkagesta, had its transponder switched off before entering the port of Yalova in Turkey, concealing its route to Malta and its actual supplier.
Alkagesta has been repeatedly accused of fraudulently registering its crude as originating from Turkish or Kazakh provinces.
Azerbaijani authorities hold Adnan Ahmadzade responsible for mixing Russian crude with Azeri Light crude transported via the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline to Italy and Romania.
According to these allegations, Ahmadzade over many years established a network of companies within SOCAR that openly or covertly facilitated the supply of Russian crude to Europe using forged certificates.
Adnan Ahmadzade was dismissed from his position at SOCAR two years ago by presidential decree due to performance shortcomings. This raises serious questions: how is it that the former head of SOCAR, removed from office two years ago, is now accused of mixing Russian oil with Azerbaijani oil in the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline? If such allegations are true, then by what right could he have carried out these actions after leaving SOCAR?
This is amid suspicions that Alkagesta is a trading arm of SOCAR.
There is also Caspian Logistics Solutions (CLS), founded by Adnan Ahmedzade in 2018 after leaving SOCAR Trading Geneva. The company also deals with the supply of Russian oil using forged certificates. Its office is based in Dubai.
The company's partners include both covert and overt shippers of Russian oil. Among these partners is Oil Mar DMCC, which earned a net profit of $1 billion in four years. This company, along with Alkagesta, was implicated in a dispute over the transportation of 22,500 tons of Russian oil to Albania. According to published investigations, Alkagesta is accused of using falsified documentation to disguise Russian oil as being of Turkmen origin, including shipments purportedly sent to Turkey using Libyan documentation. Financial and customs documents linked to Alkagesta have been published to support these allegations.
According to the documents, Socar Trading and Maddox are behind these entities through subsidiaries such as OilMar Shipping DMCC from Dubai, Alkagesta from Malta, and Almedia from Turkey.
Just three days ago, the same Alkagesta group attempted to ship Russian oil to Spain through the port of Tarragona. This attempt was blocked by Spanish authorities.
In Albania, prosecutors and police seized 22,500 tons of fuel of Russian origin, although official reports indicated falsified documentation. Albanian media directly named Alkagesta as the source of the shipment, which is reportedly linked to Azerbaijani citizens. Given the seriousness of the allegations, there have been calls for Adnan Ahmedzade to be investigated, tried, and held accountable not only in Azerbaijan but also in Europe and the UK. His cousin, Kamran Agayev, the CEO of Alkagesta, and Orkhan Rustamov, another top manager at the company, are also believed to have played a central role in these schemes. All three must explain how Alkagesta was created, and What financial basis and to what extent does it have trade relations with Russian companies?
In addition to being an Azerbaijani citizen, Adnan Ahmadzade also received British citizenship. How he obtained it is known only to him and the British authorities.
One of the most sensational revelations is that Ahmadzade is suspected of registering the $108 million superyacht "Galactica Super Nova" in his own name in coordination with Vagit Alekperov, the president of Lukoil, Russia's second-largest oil company.
The yacht was hidden in a Mediterranean port to avoid arrest by Western authorities. Alekperov was sanctioned by the UK on April 13, 2022.
Lukoil co-owner and billionaire Vagit Alekperov has likely sold his 70-meter superyacht Galactica Super Nova and purchased a new 80-meter yacht named Genesis. The ownership of the yacht Galactica Super Nova changed last year. Until the summer, the vessel belonged to the Maltese company Nova 70 LTD, which Alekperov controlled through another Maltese company, Waves Holdings LTD, and the Cypriot Grindale Investments LTD. However, according to the Maritime Portal, on July 11, the yacht was transferred to Six Star Shipping LTD, an unknown Marshall Islands offshore company. Two months later, the yacht was renamed Gaja.
Interestingly, this yacht was recently registered in the name of Azerbaijani businessman Adnan Akhmedzade* (Luxstar LTD). It is alleged that this move was taken to evade sanctions and conceal assets.
The transponder on Vagit Alekperov's former yacht has been reactivated.
Galactica Super Nova was put up for sale in August 2021. Alekperov was asking €75 million. Broker Northrop and Johnson also posted a listing for the yacht under a new name. However, the yacht's page now states that it is "no longer for sale." However, several other brokers still have listings for the yacht under the old name.
Given the seriousness and international implications of the case, all entities and individuals involved in the concealment of the superyacht "Galactica Super Nova," including Alkagesta Ltd and related shadowy companies controlled or affiliated with Adnan Ahmadzadeh, should be formally investigated by the UK, EU, and international authorities.
The asset sanctioned by the UK—a $100 million superyacht—was registered in the name of a British citizen (Adnan Ahmadzadeh) and subsequently disappeared from international tracking systems (via GPS deactivation) in the Mediterranean. Despite holding a British passport, Adnan Ahmadzade is now accused of using his British citizenship to legally cover Alekperov's assets and facilitate oil trade for Russian oil companies such as Lukoil, Tatneft, Sibur, Surgutneftegaz, and others.
To be continued
Tomasz Wisniewski
