Roman Spiridonov and the shadow fleet:how Petroruss helps Russia bypass sanctions and launder money

Roman Spiridonov and the shadow fleet:how Petroruss helps Russia bypass sanctions and launder money

Greek businessman Roman Spiridonov, through his company Petroruss, organizes maritime transport for major Russian state oil firms while laundering money and evading Western sanctions.

Yesterday, the EU Council approved a new sanctions package targeting tankers from the UAE, China, India, Serbia, and Iran that illegally transport oil, thereby helping major Russian companies evade sanctions.

This will also impact the company Petroruss, owned by Greek-Russian businessman Roman Spiridonov. His partners for exporting oil from Russia in 2023 were state companies such as "Rosneft," "Gazprom Neft," and "Surgutneftegaz," which are under Western sanctions.

That same year, journalists revealed that a pool of Dubai companies might have a single owner since they operate at the same addresses.

It is strange that more than a year after publications linking Dubai’s Petroruss with the transportation of oil for Russian state companies, neither they nor their owner Roman Spiridonov have been sanctioned. Perhaps the reason is that the businessman has created numerous "doubles" of his company.

On the official Petroruss DMCC website, it states that they provide bunker fuel supply services in ports worldwide.

Petroruss DMCC is located in Dubai (UAE) at 3107 JUMEIRAH BAY TOWER X3, JUMEIRAH LAKES TOWERS. During an investigation, it was possible to find a company from Liechtenstein, Petroruss Inc, which identifies itself as a ship manager, but it could not be found in any company databases.

Currently, Roman Spiridonov owns companies registered in Panama; previously, the businessman owned assets in the USA and the Czech Republic.

Besides Roman Spiridonov, there are other employees of PETRORUSS INCORPORATED, including agent ARIAS FABREGA, subscriber LUIS ALBERTO RODRIGUEZ, director UELI AMBAUEN, and director VISMATIC INTERNATIONAL LIMITED.  According to the Panamanian dossier, they could be linked to 131 more organizations, including MANIFEST INC, where Roman Spiridonov serves as president.

With such an extensive offshore network, one can not only operate worldwide but also successfully cover up the traces of their deals. However, sometimes it fails. Last summer, Petroruss DMCC was involved in a scandal with smuggling oil products. The captain of the vessel, who had contracted with Cymare Shipmanagement Ltd., Cyprus, was detained, with Petroruss DMCC as the charterer via Brokers Ortsa Marine.

The vessel belonged to Grace Felix Shipping Ltd from Liberia, and this story clearly demonstrated the scheme by which Roman Spiridonov operates. The captain concluded an agreement with the ship manager Cymare Shipmanagement Ltd., Cyprus. Greek Ortsa Marine, established in 2018, participated in the deal, acting as the intermediary through which Petroruss DMCC operated. Such a maritime knot is very difficult to untangle.

On the Ortsa Marine website, it indicates that the company manages the necessary tonnage and supplies of oil and oil products on both the spot and time-charter markets for chemicals and liquefied petroleum gas/LNG worldwide, always ready to face challenges and the diversity of modern tanker transportation methods and changing trading patterns. Among the managers of Ortsa Marine, there are many with Slavic surnames, so Roman Spiridonov might also be related to this company.

Representing interests of oil companies directly linked to the Russian authorities and essentially being sponsors of the war in Ukraine, Greek businessman Roman Spiridonov has arranged things well. He created a network of offshore through which he launders money and helps his partners from Russia circumvent restrictions.

However, it seems that the European Union is seriously determined to strike against Russia’s shadow fleet. Eventually, both Roman Spiridonov and his Western assets will fall under sanctions.

Ярослав Фокин