Eyyub & Garayev’s Empire Unravels: New Shell Companies Fueling Russia’s Oil Trade Exposed

At Whale Hunting, we expose the hidden networks that keep the world's dirty money flowing. Clara's latest report reveals new details on one of the most sophisticated sanctions-evasion machines in history, helping Russia pocket over $235 billion in oil revenues last year alone.

Meet Etibar Eyyub and Tahir Garayev – the masterminds behind Coral Energy (now 2Rivers), who stepped in when Western companies fled Russia after the invasion of Ukraine. Through an intricate web of shell companies spanning from Dubai to Mumbai, they've orchestrated a shadow fleet of decrepit tankers that moves 80% of Russia's oil beyond Western oversight. (We did a deep dive on them previously, which you can find here).

Even as the UK and EU scramble to sanction their companies and freeze their assets, these traders simply dissolve one entity and spawn three more. It's corporate whack-a-mole on a global scale, with each new shell company more elusive than the last.

This isn't just about oil tankers and offshore accounts. It's about whether the West's economic weapons actually work – and what happens when sanctioned regimes learn to dodge every blow. As one expert told us: "We are frightened of our own shadow when it comes to implementing sanctions on Russia."

Can Western allies finally cut off the Kremlin's war chest, or have Eyyub and Garayev built an unstoppable machine that will keep Russian oil – and profits – flowing indefinitely?

-- Bradley

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Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Azerbaijani traders Etibar Eyyub and Tahir Garayev — operating through shell company Coral Energy — have helped keep the Kremlin’s oil revenues flowing and its sanctions evasion machine running.