Companies of Azerbaijani nationals Tahir Garayev and Etibar Eyyub continue helping Russia bypass oil sanctions via Dubai free zone

Companies of Azerbaijani nationals Tahir Garayev and Etibar Eyyub continue helping Russia bypass oil sanctions via Dubai free zone

In the spring of 2024, banks in the UAE started suspending the accounts of companies suspected of ties to Russia’s shadow fleet.

At the same time, one of Dubai’s free trade zones remains a haven for firms helping Russia circumvent oil sanctions. Unexpectedly, little-known Azerbaijani expatriates Tahir Garayev and Etibar Eyyub have become the connecting link between Russians and recipients of sanctioned oil, among which India and Turkey stand out the most.

Since the full-scale conflict in Ukraine began in February 2022, the Western world sided with the "side of good" and began actively imposing sanctions against Moscow. Among them, the most painful should have been oil restrictions and the reduction of the price cap. But things did not turn out as expected. The Kremlin took advantage of the experience of its allies, Iran and Venezuela, and found a way to circumvent sanctions by using third countries, old ships, and one-day insurance companies to transport black gold.

Over the last one and a half to two years, international investigative journalists have started identifying companies through which most of the Russian oil is transported. It turned out that for these purposes, firms registered in Dubai are massively used. In particular, in the DMCC free zone, the main office of which is located in the picturesque area of Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT).

Companies of Azerbaijani nationals Tahir Garayev and Etibar Eyyub continue helping Russia bypass oil sanctions via Dubai free zone

Among them, the following companies can be highlighted: Coral Energy (renamed to 2Rivers DMCC), Voliton DMCC, Pontus Trading, Vetus Investments Limited, and Demex Trading. All of them have offices in the mentioned free economic zone, which, according to Dubai sources, was originally used for registering firms engaged in securities and gold trading.

However, in recent years, firms helping to circumvent oil sanctions have preferred this zone, probably because it is located almost in the center of the city, across the road from the most famous beaches, unlike other Dubai free zones.

Companies of Azerbaijani nationals Tahir Garayev and Etibar Eyyub continue helping Russia bypass oil sanctions via Dubai free zone

The scheme with Russian oil looks quite simple, and all transactions occur exclusively on paper: a ship with Russian oil goes from Russia, and the buyer supposedly is a Dubai company. However, no one delivers the oil to Dubai - it goes to the final buyer through a mediator in the UAE free zone.

For example, in 2023 and 2024, Russian oil was transported to India via Pontus Trading, a firm registered in Dubai. This company was also used to transport sanctioned oil products to Turkey.

Companies of Azerbaijani nationals Tahir Garayev and Etibar Eyyub continue helping Russia bypass oil sanctions via Dubai free zone

Companies of Azerbaijani nationals Tahir Garayev and Etibar Eyyub continue helping Russia bypass oil sanctions via Dubai free zone

Coral Energy, registered in the Dubai free zone, was a key intermediary in Russian oil supplies. Reuters published a large investigation about this firm. However, it was among the first to come under Western sanctions from the mentioned list of companies.

The UK government imposed restrictions on Coral Energy and its potential beneficiaries, Tahir Garayev and Etibar Eyyub, both of whom are Azerbaijani expatriates. The first settled in Dubai, while the second, according to media reports, resides in Russia and is a direct negotiator with Russia’s major oil company "Rosneft."

Companies of Azerbaijani nationals Tahir Garayev and Etibar Eyyub continue helping Russia bypass oil sanctions via Dubai free zone

The Wall Street Journal wrote that in 2023 and 2024, Eyyub personally traveled to the city of Erbil in northern Kurdistan to negotiate over a pipeline more than half-owned by Russians. Moreover, according to other journalists, Tahir Garayev also met with Rosneft representatives.

Even more strange is the information that the brother of Ukraine’s Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, Aslan Omer Kirimli, allegedly held meetings in 2024 in Ankara with 2Rivers, the new name for Coral Energy linked to Garayev and Eyyub, as a representative of ASTEM Investment Group. It was not possible to confirm the information about this meeting, but in this context, it is worth noting that since May 2023, Tahir Garayev has been under sanctions of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council due to mediation for Russia’s "shadow fleet."

Companies of Azerbaijani nationals Tahir Garayev and Etibar Eyyub continue helping Russia bypass oil sanctions via Dubai free zone

A source familiar with Dubai’s banking system confirms that since last year, Dubai banks have actively started blocking accounts of companies linked to Russians. Emirates NBD bank was among the first to start this procedure. Subsequently, smaller banking structures took part. Journalists learned that blocked accounts included firms associated with Garayev and Eyyub’s Coral Energy. Their accounts were also blocked by the Emirates branch of the Egyptian bank Banque Misr.

According to the source, many accounts were opened by Banque Misr, beginning at the war, particularly in exchange for bribes. "I won’t be unfounded, but opening an account in Dubai is a big problem and takes a long time, even if the company is clean. But if you are a new firm—numerous intermediaries recommend small banks for account opening. These financial structures are fully legal and accept international payments. The only thing is you need to give the intermediary about 15,000 dollars in cash for ’help.’ Banque Misr stood out among such small banks by turning a blind eye to what the firm actually engages in," said the source.

He notes that Dubai’s banking structures began blocking accounts linked to Russians not so much due to fear of sanctions but due to a UAE government directive to make every effort to remove the Emirates from the “grey list” of countries with high financial risk.

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"The UAE’s financial system is far from perfect. But reputation is paramount to them. So they are ready to sacrifice billion-dollar ’grey’ accounts of Russians so that the world stops considering them a money laundering hub," the source said.

The clearing of suspicious accounts, including those linked to Russians, has taken effect, and the UAE was removed from the list of suspicious jurisdictions. In February 2024, the Emirates officially exited the FATF grey list, which identifies countries likely involved in money laundering. In June 2025, the European Commission also removed the UAE from the high-risk countries list for AML and CTF.

Companies of Azerbaijanis Tahir Garayev and Etibar Eyyub are now under sanctions from the UK, the USA, and Ukraine. The closure of their accounts in Dubai would probably significantly worsen their business.

Companies of Azerbaijani nationals Tahir Garayev and Etibar Eyyub continue helping Russia bypass oil sanctions via Dubai free zone

Companies of Azerbaijani nationals Tahir Garayev and Etibar Eyyub continue helping Russia bypass oil sanctions via Dubai free zone

Companies of Azerbaijani nationals Tahir Garayev and Etibar Eyyub continue helping Russia bypass oil sanctions via Dubai free zone

However, data from specialized export-import operation sites confirm that even after the imposition of sanctions, some of Garayev and Eyyub’s companies continued trading Russian oil, which was sent, in particular, to India and Turkey. Including Dubai firms, created to transport Russian oil. They had complex connections leading back to Garayev and Eyyub, who are subject to personal restrictions.

Here, for instance, a quality certificate issued for the transportation of oil from Russia to an Indian port, accompanied by one of the firms connected to Tahir Garayev and Etibar Eyyub.

Companies of Azerbaijani nationals Tahir Garayev and Etibar Eyyub continue helping Russia bypass oil sanctions via Dubai free zone

Here are examples of shipments of Russian oil products from the same firm to India, with a detailed list and tonnage.

Companies of Azerbaijani nationals Tahir Garayev and Etibar Eyyub continue helping Russia bypass oil sanctions via Dubai free zone

According to Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, Tahir Garayev is a Russian citizen with a Maltese passport and Dubai residency. In Russia, he and his business partner Etibar Eyyub have individual tax numbers. It’s hard to say why they were chosen to manage firms serving Russia’s shadow fleet. But a proven fact is that their companies have helped Russia financially top up its budget by hundreds of billions, most of which is directed to financing the full-scale conflict over the past few years.