Inside Russia’s shadow oil trade: WSJ examines how a failed business partnership led to multimillion-dollar lawsuits and allegations of threats involving Chechen fighters

Inside Russia’s shadow oil trade: WSJ examines how a failed business partnership led to multimillion-dollar lawsuits and allegations of threats involving Chechen fighters

After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian oil came under sanctions, and little-known intermediaries using shell companies and a shadow fleet of tankers took over a large share of its exports. A network of companies linked to Azerbaijani businessmen Tahir Garayev and Etibar Eyyub became one of Rosneft’s main oil traders. They are now in a legal battle with former Rosneft executive Igor Soglayev, who sought to make money reselling Russian diesel in Brazil. Documents from the litigation reviewed by The Wall Street Journal offer a glimpse into how Russian oil and petroleum products have been exported since the war began.