Recently, the traditional St. Petersburg International Economic Forum concluded in Russia. Despite the legitimate sanctions policy of the West — in particular the United Kingdom — against Russia, which continues its aggressive occupation policy towards the freedom-loving Ukrainian people, the Forum was attended by a world-renowned oil trader, the Pakistani-British oil Trader billionaire Murtaza Ali Lakhani. This year’s forum in Russia aimed to become an effective tool for overcoming the geopolitical and informational barriers that divide Russia from the civilized world.
According to the Russian outlet RTVI, in an interview for Russian media, M.A. Lakhani — who played a key role in bypassing sanctions against Russia — stated:
“This forum is probably the most spectacular of all forums in the world. I’ve been coming here for 10 years now, and every year it gets better and better, no matter what kind of pressure you are all under. Today, it remains the best forum for representatives of the energy, banking, and all other sectors…”
M.A. Lakhani noted that he is engaged in the energy business and that despite the sanctions policy, his company is still present in Russia and plans to remain. The businessman also specifically emphasized that the proponents of anti-Russian policies will always need Russia.
Will the British billionaire manage to get away with it once again? Back in 2023, The Wall Street Journal, citing its sources, reported that the U.S. Department of Justice was “closely monitoring” his activities and considering the possibility of imposing sanctions against him.
In January 2024, the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on 13 ships linked to Lakhani’s operations. However, the lack of action against the rest of his fleet raises questions about the effectiveness of the current sanctions aimed at curbing Vladimir Putin’s military efforts against Ukraine and Western countries.
Lakhani has also strengthened his ties in Washington and London. For instance, during the 2019 election campaign in the United Kingdom, he donated five hundred thousand pounds sterling to the Conservative Party’s election fund through his London-based subsidiary — Mercantile & Maritime UK Ltd.
Lakhani’s connections and influence help him find ways to return to his shadow fleet even those tankers that fall under Western sanctions.
Although in July 2023 a Lakhani representative told The Wall Street Journal that the businessman himself and all companies in which he holds a stake no longer participate in the trade of Russian oil, all the facts below indicate otherwise.
According to Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate, Lakhani has very close ties with the company “Rosneft” and Russia. At the beginning of 2025, one of Lakhani’s shadow fleet tankers, Khalasi (IMO 9293997), made several trips to Russian ports.
The oil tanker Katy (IMO 9323326), owned by Lakhani’s newly registered shell company from the UAE, was inspected in the Russian ports of Taman in June 2024 and Vanino in December 2024, according to the Equasis database. Another Lakhani tanker, Uriel (IMO 9336517), departed from Lomé (Togo) on January 1, 2025, and arrived in Ust-Luga (Russia) on January 26, 2025, according to Marine Traffic data.
According to Ukrainian sources, the tanker CLYDE, part of Lakhani’s shadow fleet, has since January 2025 been used for exporting oil from the Russian port of Nakhodka to China. This port hosts a terminal of “Rosneft.”
This same tanker was involved in exporting Russian oil and oil products from the port of Tuapse in 2023 and 2025. Specifically, in January 2023, it exported over fifty-eight thousand tons of oil from this Russian port. Tuapse houses the production complex of the sanctioned Russian company PJSC “NK Rosneft” — the Tuapse Refinery with a marine terminal. The cargo sender was Amur Trading FZCO, and the recipient was Tejarinaft FZCO, registered on April 25, 2022.
Another tanker from Lakhani’s shadow fleet — SEAL — between January and April 2025 was repeatedly spotted off the Crimean coast, in the Kerch Strait, and also docked at the Novorossiysk terminal. In 2023, this tanker exported over thirty thousand tons of gas oil (a blend of oil and condensate) from the Russian port of Tuapse, delivering the cargo to a refinery of the Turkish company Tüpraş. The shipment was organized through Tejarinaft.
Lakhani’s shadow fleet also includes the tanker JAG (formerly known as Farmosa Falcon, Junior G, Sino Pacific, and others). Since early 2025, it has systematically appeared near the port of Feodosia in Crimea and off the coasts of Russian Black Sea ports. In February 2023, this tanker was involved in exporting nearly fifty-five thousand tons of Russian oil from the port of Tuapse. The sender was Amur Trading FZCO, and the recipient was Tejarinaft FZCO. This tanker was also involved in an incident posing an environmental hazard: on February 10, 2025, due to a technical malfunction, it leaked fuel oil during bunkering at anchorage near Ambarlı, not far from Istanbul.
Thus, Lakhani’s MM Group operates not only in Fujairah (an eastern emirate in the UAE where Lakhani plans to build a grand $600 million project — ed.) with companies such as ADNOC, the UAE’s National Oil Company, Emirates airline, Etihad Rail, the Dubai Municipality, and others, but also in sanctioned Russia.
