“Shadow” oil fleet and million-dollar schemes: how Adnan Ahmadzade and Alkagesta holding are linked to black gold supplies bypassing sanctions

“Shadow” oil fleet and million-dollar schemes: how Adnan Ahmadzade and Alkagesta holding are linked to black gold supplies bypassing sanctions

09 октября 2025 г.

Kseniya Zhukova

Baku seeks to restore its image and halt the trade of Russian oil — while Maltese regulators remain indifferent.

According to our oil industry sources in Baku, the arrest of Adnan Ahmadzada is part of Azerbaijan’s broader effort to improve its international standing concerning Russian oil dealings. The initiative may also be linked to recent remarks by former U.S. President Donald Trump urging Europeans to stop purchasing Russian oil.

Ahmadzada previously served as SOCAR’s chief trader before becoming an independent operator.

He has his own company called ABDA Invest Holding, but he is involved in various oil and gas companies that are layered into secretive structures such as Caspian Oil and Gas Ltd, and Oilmar DMS, and and Caspian Logistics and ultimately, Alkagesta, which is Malta’s largest oil bunkerer. Adnan Ahmadzada has a long trading history with the Russians having traded Russian oil throughout his career with clients such as Lukoil, Tatneft and Sibur.

Adnan Ahmadzada is being suspected of being the hidden hand behind Alkagesta, which is currently being investigated by the EU and UK authorities for trading Russian oil in Europe. This is not the first time that Alkagesta is running into problems with European authorities over its Russian oil sales. In 2023, Albania halted a shipment of 22,500 tonnes of Russian oil which was being traded by Alkagesta.

A letter sent to Malta’s Consul General to Turkey, Walter Mallia, by a Turkish businessman had warned him of the illicit oil trafficking in Malta Alkagesta. The letter was sent in June 2024. We are trying to identify Maltese authorities and officials who followed up on this letter but so far, we have confirmed that several relevant individuals are unaware that this letter exists. There are no confirmed and ongoing investigatiosn by the Maltese authorities about Alkagesta, yet.