As VChK-OGPU and Rucriminal.info learned, Russia's top oil magnate and main shareholder of Lukoil, Vagit Alikperov (under sanctions), has built a structure to circumvent sanctions

At the center of this structure is Jefferson Trust Ltd, a Hong Kong structure that manages assets on behalf of a deeply hidden trust called FAI Trust, which is managed by a group of former Lukoil employees and Tajik businessman Khofiz Shakhidi (owner of the digital Alif Bank).

The list of Jefferson Trust shareholders looks like a list of Alekperov's top financial assistants: Pavel Novoselov, Pavel Sukhoruchkin, and Khofiz Shakhidi — all of whom have been managing and hiding the assets of Russia's oil elites for years. According to documents from the Cayman Islands court, the two Pavels previously managed the investments of Alekperov, Fedun, and Alexander Dzhaparidze (a close associate of Alekperov) through the offshore structure Hadar Fund. They formally left Lukoil in 2004, but apparently remained in Alekperov’s orbit as his most trusted proxies.

Jefferson Trust’s shareholders include BVI-registered Sogdiana Properties and Jefferson Securities, Hong Kong’s Flangel Group, and the Bahamas’ Jefferson Capital — all controlled in one form or another by the same circle. Public records show that even Pavel’s brother, Eduard Novoselov, was a director of several related entities alongside Shakhidi.

Alif Bank, founded by Shakhidi, is often cited as a fintech success story in Central Asia — Islamic, mobile, youth-focused. But its shareholders include Jefferson Capital Holdings, and thus FAI Trust. These shares are controlled by Alekperov’s “old guard.”

This is not the first time Shakhidi and the Pavls have acted behind the scenes. In 2013, they pulled off a controversial takeover of Pan European Terminals Plc (later renamed GTL Terminals) via a BVI-registered company, Belphar Limited. Belphar bought up shares in stages, then launched a forced buyout at 22p – considered by many shareholders to be too low. Investors, expecting a better deal, were forced to sell.

The operation was carried out by little-known companies Hurley Investments and Hepworth Technologies, which were later linked to Alekperov. In some documents, Hurley is listed as owned by Sukhoruchkin, while in others, Alekperov himself is the beneficiary. Shakhidi is widely believed to have acted on Alekperov’s instructions, helping him gain control of logistics assets at a reduced price.

The company was later delisted, privatised and renamed. Belphar became GSS Overseas Ltd.

As sanctions were looming on Alekperov in 2022, he made another maneuver. A few weeks before being included in the UK sanctions list, his company Morcell Ltd sold 80% of the shares of the British shipping company OEG Group Ltd to the same individuals - Sukhoruchkin, Novoselov and Marina Kulishova.

Already in August 2022, Kulishova became the owner of 99% of the shares of the Azerbaijani bank Yelo Bank, which previously belonged to Alekperov - another indirect confirmation that she also acts as a trustee in his structure.

Although OEG officially announced the severing of ties with Alekperov, the timing of the deal and the composition of the new owners raised doubts. The share was later transferred to GIIS Invest S.C.P., also controlled by the same three individuals. In March 2023, GIIS quietly sold the company to the Oaktree Capital fund, completing a “clean exit” in the face of growing attention.

Conclusion: A narrow circle of trusted people is a global loophole.