Baltic Sea pirate: Latvian citizen helps sell oil to Russia

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Russia continues to sell oil abroad, evading sanctions.

Oxu.az reports that “The Insider” wrote about this.

One of the accomplices in the illegal export of Russian oil turned out to be Latvian citizen Aleksey Khalyavin.

Two companies linked to Khalyavin bought oil from Surgutneftegaz at a price above the set limit, earning the oil company an additional $1.4 billion.

The oil price cap is a measure aimed at limiting Russia’s revenue from oil sales. If the price exceeds $60 per barrel, Western companies are prohibited from assisting in sales (by offering brokerage, transport and insurance services). But Russia can circumvent sanctions through intermediaries who have re-registered their companies in Dubai. One of them is Alexei Khalyavin.

According to The Insider, the businessman is the owner of Black Pearl Energy Trading LLC, a Dubai-based company associated with OGC Shipping LLC and Conmar Maritime. In order to circumvent sanctions, they bought 38 million barrels of Surgutneftegaz oil at $82 in 2023. In 2024, Black Pearl Energy bought another 20.6 million barrels for $83.7.

The Insider also links Khalyavi to Cypriot companies Sparta Shipmanagement and Lagosmarine Ltd. They own tankers from Russia to India and China that Alexey Khalyavi bought through Dubai-based companies.

On social media, Khalyavin calls himself the CEO of the Conrad Management Company. The Insider writes that this company helped several employees of the Russian company Promsyryoimport obtain residence permits in the United Arab Emirates. Promsyryoimport is under the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation and is engaged in the supply of oil by sea.