Why Prosecuting Oil Traders Matters More Than Sinking Tankers |
Russia’s oil trade survives through legal loopholes, shell companies, and intermediaries, not tankers alone— making courtrooms a more effective battlefield than risky escalation at sea.
The arrest of a senior executive, Adnan Ahmadszada, at Azerbaijan’s state energy giant underscores how far Moscow is willing to go to evade Western sanctions—and how vulnerable Europe’s energy markets remain. It also points to an alternative path for pressuring Russia’s illicit oil trade, one that may prove more effective than the emerging “tanker war” between Ukraine and Russia.
The war against Russia’s illicit oil trading will be won in the legal docket, not in the dockyards.
Sanctions Evasion in the Ahmadzada Case
The arrest follows accusations that Ahmadzada helped Russia evade sanctions imposed after its invasion of Ukraine. According to reporting, ships carrying Russian-origin oil were at times documented as Azerbaijani, Turkmen, or other non-sanctioned origins, enabling trade that may have skirted European Union (EU) embargoes. In some cases, Russian oil was allegedly mixed with non-sanctioned crude to facilitate its sale into European markets. For a Russia under wartime strain, every barrel matters.
Not long ago, Adnan Ahmadzada was among the most influential figures in the global energy industry. He attended Formula 1 events and appeared in widely circulated photographs with Lionel Messi. He also held a number of senior positions at SOCAR, including executive director of SOCAR Trading and vice president for investments and marketing, before his alleged turn to criminality. Today, his downfall has become a matter of international consequence.
His arrest represents one of the largest anti-corruption actions ever undertaken by Azerbaijan’s security services. It is critical to Baku’s reputation—particularly that of its oil sector—as a reliable fossil-fuel producer seeking to position itself as an alternative supplier to Russia for Europe’s energy needs.
The case suggests Azerbaijan’s continued role as an