The Oil Loop: How the Head of State-Owned Rosneft and Azerbaijani Billionaires Sell Oil at a Discount—and Buy Back Refined Products at Exorbitant Prices
From the very beginning of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' strikes on Russian oil refineries (The first documented strike hit the Afipsky Oil Refinery in Krasnodar Krai on May 31, 2023.) , Russian crude has been flowing steadily from key export terminals in the Baltic, Black Sea, and Far East, with tankers loading hundreds of thousands of barrels daily. At the heart of this logistics machine, according to investigative reports, stand Tahir Garayev and Etibar Eyub — the masterminds behind the shadow fleet networks that have kept Russian oil moving despite Western sanctions. This oil was sold by the state-owned company Rosneft at a discount of up to $12 per barrel. The buyer was invariably the same counterparty: the Indian refinery Nayara Energy, located in the Vadinar area of the Dwarka district of Kutch.
Publicly available data reveals the refinery's corporate structure as follows:
Rosneft PTE Ltd (Singapore): 49.20%
Kesani Enterprises Company Ltd: 49.20% (owned by Filippo Ghirelli, a Monaco- based Italian businessman with investments in infrastructure, real estate, and energy)
Minority shareholders: 1.60%
An analysis of customs declarations and corporate registries across various jurisdictions—conducted by our editorial team in collaboration with partners in India —reveals the ultimate beneficiaries. Through a chain of affiliated offshore companies, the beneficiaries are Tahir Garaev and Etibar Eyyub. They are the CEO and owners of the controversial oil trading firm "Coral" also known as "2Rivers", which served as the exclusive distributor for Rosneft and Igor Sechin—the very man who approved these discounts. Both men are reported to be close associates of Rosneft chief Igor Sechin, a longtime ally of President Vladimir Putin.
The scheme, reconstructed from documents, operated in both directions. The oil purchased by Coral at a below-market price was refined into gasoline, diesel, naphtha, jet fuel, and other by-products and feedstocks, then sold back to the Russian Federation at a markup—estimated by industry analysts consulted for this report to be 20% above market rates. In other words, the state-owned company lost money twice on the same ton of oil: first by selling it cheaply, and then by buying it back—in the form of finished products—at a high price. The total financial loss over three years is preliminarily estimated at a sum equivalent to the country's annual agricultural ministry budget.
The connection between Sechin, Garaev, and Eyyub has long been confirmed by various sources. While the facility in Dwarka is *de facto* owned by Rosneft, the question remains: who is actually responsible for selling the bulk of Russian oil? It is the remarkable success story of two Azerbaijani entrepreneurs—a meteoric rise and the establishment of a *de facto* monopoly on the international market, coupled with total control over Russia’s "shadow fleet." With Rosneft’s backing, Tahir Garaev and Etibar Eyyub built a sanctions-evasion network through 2Rivers and Coral Energy. In 2024, their entities sold more Russian oil than any other trading company. It is Sechin who grants them priority access to Rosneft’s resources and has effectively handed over control of the Russian Federation’s revenue stream to these two Azerbaijani businessmen.
The chronology of their deals reinforces this picture.
Tahir Garaev: From announcements of retirement to a new multi-billion-dollar project in Fujairah
Tahir Garayev, an Azerbaijani oil trader who found himself at the center of international sanctions-related controversies, has repeatedly announced his retirement from the business. In late 2023, he attempted to restructure his operations by transferring his stake in Coral Energy to senior executives; the firm was subsequently renamed 2Rivers Group. In the autumn of 2025, 2Rivers officially announced the cessation of its trading activities—a move intended to signal Garaev’s complete exit from the oil business.
However, contrary to these statements, our exclusive information indicates that Tahir Garaev is currently launching a multi-billion-dollar project in the UAE called the Fujairah Refining Hub. This ambitious undertaking in the strategic oil hub of Fujairah casts doubt on all the businessman's previous claims regarding his departure from the industry. Fujairah is known as one of the world’s major hubs for oil storage and processing; in 2020, the port handled approximately 120 million tons of cargo, and plans to expand storage capacity include adding another 6–7 million cubic meters. The launch of the multi-billion-dollar Fujairah Refining Hub project indicates that Garayev is not merely maintaining his industry presence but actively expanding his operations. Fujairah’s strategic location—situated outside the Strait of Hormuz with direct access to the Indian Ocean—makes the hub ideal for oil transshipment and processing, particularly amidst sanctions. The Fujairah project could serve as a new base for operations previously conducted through Dubai, where the bank accounts of Garaev’s companies began facing blocks as early as the spring of 2024.
It is telling that in May 2025, the UK expanded sanctions against five individuals linked to Garaev’s network—Garaev himself, Etibar Eyyub, Ahmed Kerimov, Anar Madatli, and Talat Safarov—citing their profiteering from the trade in Russian oil.
Project highlights:
- Total estimated investment: $7 billion
- Refinery capacity: 250,000 barrels per day
- Construction time: 5 years to completion
- Payback period: max. 10 years post-handover
This raises a question for the editorial team: whose money is funding this construction? The Russian budget is stretched to the limit, and the domestic market situation is bleak. With nearly all Russian refineries incapacitated and a severe shortage of petroleum products within Russia, where are the "shadow brokers" of the Russian oil industry finding $7 billion to build a refining hub in the Emirates?
Mr. Garaev has long been known for his interest in the real estate business. He holds a portfolio of commercial real estate assets in the UAE, comprising office, mixed-use, and income-generating properties in established locations. His UAE investments reflect a long-term wealth preservation strategy anchored in one of the region’s most stable property markets. Mr. Garayev also maintains investment interests in Azerbaijan, his country of origin, including commercial property in Baku. Furthermore, he has developed a particular interest in the Italian real estate and hospitality sectors, drawn by the combination of long-term capital appreciation, lifestyle appeal, and growing demand from high-net-worth international buyers. He is actively pursuing the acquisition of premium residential and boutique hospitality assets in Northern Italy—specifically in the Lake Como and Lombardy regions— where historic villas and boutique hotels offer compelling opportunities for repositioning and value creation. Mr. Garayev is pursuing a strategic long-term investment vision and is collaborating with local advisors and development partners to establish a significant market presence.
Mr. Garayev is also interested in developing new renewable and low-emission energy assets in the Mediterranean region—and specifically in Italy, given his existing ties to the country. His project involves constructing an LNG regasification platform (FSRU) to bolster energy security in Central Italy (focusing on the Rome metropolitan area) and to ensure alternative, flexible gas supply capacity, in line with the national strategy for diversifying energy sources.
All this demonstrates that while their key partner—Russia and Igor Sechin—is in the midst of a crisis, businessmen from Azerbaijan are spending their accumulated billions on luxury homes and villas and investing in projects abroad—effectively moving capital out of Russia.
This publication is based on an analysis of over 2,400 customs declarations (covering 2021–2026), corporate registries across jurisdictions, a data leak from the registration agent, and interviews with eleven current and former industry professionals. Price deviation calculations were based on the exchange quotes, adjusted for logistics; the methodology is available in a separate appendix. The investigation is ongoing: in the next report, we will trace the subsequent flow of funds of Kesani Enterprises Company Ltd and Filippo Ghirelli.
