Petroruss and Russia’s shadow fleet: Interpol has tracked down fugitive businessman Roman Spiridonov, who leaked sanction evasion schemes for profit

Petroruss and Russia’s shadow fleet: Interpol has tracked down fugitive businessman Roman Spiridonov, who leaked sanction evasion schemes for profit

There is scarce information available about Russian entrepreneur and Greek citizen Roman Spiridonov. However, his name is increasingly linked to Russia’s shadow fleet operations and ties to Putin’s inner circle.

It is also known that as a result of Roman Spiridonov’s activities in the oil product trade market, tensions arose between Russian special services and the KGB of its satellite Belarus. According to a report by the VCHK-OGPU channel, the Belarusians presented a complaint to the Russian side for excessively active activities in the oil product trade market in the Persian Gulf countries, which he carries out in Russia’s interest. However, it turned out that even in Russia, there is dissatisfaction with Spiridonov’s activities — first, he "leaks" all the schemes for bypassing sanctions used by Belarus in trading "domestic" oil products to interested parties; and second, a significant portion of the profits from such trade ends up in Spiridonov’s pockets.

It seems that Roman Spiridonov is trying by any means to put his own holding company, Petroruss, onto the multi-billion-dollar sanction flows of oil. To do this, he does not disdain frankly "handing over" shadow schemes that have been laboriously established by the Russian authorities and which are constantly threatened by the collective West. Moreover, according to Energy Intelligence, Petroruss is developing markets not only in Saudi Arabia and the UAE but also in China and India.

However, Spiridonov’s affairs are also not thriving — and it’s not only about the dissatisfaction of his actions by Russia. He has problems in that country as well, but more on that later.

In December of last year, the UK included two of Spiridonov’s firms, 2Rivers DMCC (Dubai, UAE) and 2Rivers PTE LTD (Singapore) in the sanctions list as part of sanctions against Russia’s shadow fleet carrying illegal Russian oil.

Against this backdrop, many questioned the fact, also noted by the Belarusians in their complaints to the Russians, that another company of Roman Spiridonov, also involved in the activities of the Russian shadow fleet — Petroruss — did not fall under sanctions. This, according to Belarusians, corroborates that Roman Spiridonov "leaks" Russian-Belarusian schemes for bypassing sanctions for his own interests.

2Rivers DMCC is registered in the free economic zone DMCC in the Jumeirah Lakes Towers area in Dubai. Petroruss is also registered there.

In fact, this registration merely means that only documentation moves through this free economic zone. The firms themselves operate worldwide. In fact, the official site of Petroruss DMCC states it provides bunker fuel supply services at ports around the world. In Liechtenstein, there is a shipping management company, Petroruss Inc, although very little information is available about it.

The name of Roman Spiridonov emerged in the so-called "Panama Papers," from which it followed that he is a shareholder of Vismatic International Limited, registered in the British Virgin Islands. But ten years have passed, and this information is likely outdated. However, for the investigation conducted against Spiridonov by the UK, this information may lead to chains of companies associated with Roman Spiridonov’s activities in trading Russian oil products. Moreover, the office of Vismatic International Limited was also located in Dubai.

But there is also a fresher track. And it leads directly to Russia. Last fall, some owners of the St. Petersburg Oil Terminal (JSC "PNT") stated a "raid attempt to seize the company by persons ’behind the foreign shareholder of the terminal — Cyprus company "Tujunga Enterprises Limited," citizens of a state unfriendly to Russia’."

Through the St. Petersburg Oil Terminal, oil from Russian companies like "Rosneft," "Lukoil," "Surgutneftegaz," "Gazpromneft," and "Gazprom export," was being shipped, which would then be sold worldwide using the same shadow fleet that the UK has sanctioned. And in these sanctions, Roman Spiridonov also suffered.

Although JSC "PNT" did not name the "citizens of an unfriendly state," it is known that the key figure among them is Roman Spiridonov. It seems he decided to take control of the terminal through which a significant portion of the oil products, which are traded by his shadow fleet from Petroruss, is shipped.

The story of the raid on the St. Petersburg Oil Terminal is not entirely clear. And it’s unlikely to be ordinary raiding, as the true owners include the names Ilya Traber and Viktor Korytov, who were at the origins of JSC "PNT." They closely cooperated with Vladimir Putin when he was Sobchak’s deputy in St. Petersburg and oversaw, among other things, oil product trading. So the story of the "raiding attempt" is evidently much deeper than the tidbits that leaked into public access.

However, it’s interesting for another reason — as we remember, one of the shareholders is the Cyprus "Tujunga Enterprises Limited," against which accusations have been made. What is happening in Russia with this scandal is unknown and unimportant. What’s important is that "Tujunga Enterprises Limited" has surfaced in connection with the activity of the shadow tanker fleet, which is now being hunted worldwide.

And it’s significant because Roman Spiridonov’s name has surfaced again in this context. And his company Petroruss. Which is also involved in illegal oil product trading. Last year, a ship owned by Grace Felix Shipping Ltd from Liberia was arrested in connection with oil product smuggling. The charterer was Petroruss DMCC via Brokers Ortsa Marine. The captain signed a contract with the ship manager Cymare Shipmanagement Ltd., Cyprus. The Greek Ortsa Marine, created in 2018, also participated in the deal, through which Petroruss DMCC acted.

The entire scheme is very complex, but Petroruss’s name still emerges. And this is not the first case. Documents regarding Petroruss DMCC’s trading operations have surfaced online. They indicate that it intensified its activities in 2022–2023, precisely during the period of sanctions against Russian oil.

In this connection, the names "Gazprom Neft" and "Gazprom Export" surface - just in March 2024, Petroruss DMCC redirected oil with a total weight of 99,593,170 kg from "Gazprom Export" to China. But these companies also emerged in the so-called "raid attempt" of the St. Petersburg Oil Terminal.

How this all leads to Roman Spiridonov is not completely clear. But such coincidences are unlikely to be sheer randomness. Particularly given the Belarusian KGB’s grievances toward their Russian colleagues regarding Spiridonov leaking shadow export schemes of "Belarusian" oil products which, as everyone understands, are actually Russian.

The attitude towards Roman Spiridonov from Russian authorities is also unclear. On the one hand, through his companies, particularly Petroruss, a massive flow of oil to Western countries was still flowing last year. On the other hand, Roman Spiridonov is evidently breaking schemes not only for Belarusians but also for the Kremlin. Moreover, such "exposure" cannot but affect the attitude towards Roman Spiridonov from Western countries. And he, as mentioned earlier, has a Greek passport, which, in this case, is more of a hindrance than an advantage.

According to unconfirmed reports, Interpol is interested in Roman Spiridonov’s activities. Who specifically submitted a request for his search to the international criminal police is unclear. Nor is it clear where exactly Roman Spiridonov is located. However, if the reports about Interpol’s search are not a "provocation," he clearly cannot be envied — many people want to talk with Roman Spiridonov. Starting with the British and ending with the UAE authorities, who also have claims against him for connections with Chechens. And in the States, despite the turmoil caused by Trump’s victory, there are questions for Spiridonov as well. In Russia, incidentally, the story with the St. Petersburg Oil Terminal remains unresolved. And explanations are also needed regarding the broken schemes complained about by the Belarusians.