The arrest of Adnan Ahmedzade, former deputy head of SOCAR’s investment department, caused a sensation in Baku. Ahmedzade, known for his friendship with famous football players, including Messi, arrived at the Formula 1 race in Baku in a Maybach with the license plate 77-AA-555, where he was stopped by state security officers. He was accompanied by personal security guards. Ahmedzade is accused of mixing Azeri Light crude oil with other types of crude oil, which has damaged the reputation of the Azerbaijani oil industry and market transparency and constitutes a gross violation of Azerbaijani law.

The Sabail District Court has ordered four months of pretrial detention for Akhmedzade during the investigation.

Adnan Ahmadzade was the hidden hand of Alkagesta at SOCAR. Kamran Agayev, Chairman of the Board of Alkagesta, is a relative of Adnan Ahmadzade.

Alkagesta is Malta’s largest oil bunkering company and uses the Maltese oil terminal in Birżebbuġa to transport Russian oil through a Russian shadow fleet. Alkagesta is also involved in the trade of Libyan oil. EU and UK authorities are currently investigating Alkagesta for selling Russian oil in Europe using counterfeit certificates.

In September, Akhmedzade was spotted at the Lukoil founder’s birthday celebration in Bodrum and used Alekperov’s yacht, the Genesis. These incidents fueled speculation about his role as the Russian oligarch’s confidant.

The arrest is being called the biggest anti-corruption blow to Azerbaijan’s energy elite.

In September, the Blue Rose tanker, which was loading oil from Russia in the Black Sea after bunkering and unloading oil in Malta for Alkagesta, had its transponder switched off before entering the port of Yalova in Turkey, concealing its route to Malta and its actual supplier.

Alkagesta has been repeatedly accused of fraudulently registering its oil as coming from Turkish or Kazakh provinces.

Azerbaijani authorities hold Adnan Ahmedzade responsible for mixing Russian oil with Azeri Light crude oil transported via the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline to Italy and Romania.

According to these allegations, Ahmadzade, over many years, created a network of companies within SOCAR that openly or covertly facilitated the supply of Russian oil to Europe using forged certificates.

Adnan Ahmedzade was dismissed from his position at SOCAR two years ago by presidential decree due to performance shortcomings. This raises serious questions: how is it that the former head of SOCAR, removed from his post two years ago, is now accused of mixing Russian oil with Azerbaijani oil in the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline? If these allegations are true, by what right did he commit these actions after leaving SOCAR?

This is against the backdrop of suspicions that Alkagesta is a trading arm of SOCAR.   

There’s also Caspian Logistics Solutions (CLS), founded by Adnan Ahmedzade in 2018 after leaving SOCAR Trading Geneva. The company also supplies Russian oil using counterfeit certificates. Its office is based in Dubai.

The company’s partners include both covert and overt transporters of Russian oil. Among these partners is Oil Mar DMCC, which earned a net profit of $1 billion over four years. This company, along with Alkagesta, was implicated in a dispute over the transportation of 22,500 tons of Russian oil to Albania.

According to published investigations, Alkagesta is accused of using falsified documentation to disguise Russian oil as being of Turkmen origin, including shipments allegedly sent to Turkey using Libyan documentation. Financial and customs documents related to Alkagesta have been published to support these allegations.

The documents show that Socar Trading and Maddox are behind these structures through subsidiaries such as Dubai-based OilMar Shipping DMCC, Malta-based Alkagesta, and Turkey-based Almedia.

Just three days ago, the same Alkagesta group attempted to smuggle Russian oil to Spain through the port of Tarragona. This attempt was blocked by Spanish authorities.

In Albania, prosecutors and police seized 22,500 tons of Russian-origin fuel, despite official reports citing falsified documents. Albanian media directly identified Alkagesta as the company behind the shipment, which was reportedly linked to Azerbaijani citizens.

Given the seriousness of the charges, there have been calls for Adnan Ahmedzade to be investigated, tried, and held accountable not only in Azerbaijan but also in Europe and the UK. His cousin, Kamran Agayev, the CEO of Alkagesta, and Orkhan Rustamov, another top manager, are also believed to have played a central role in these schemes. All three must explain how Alkagesta was created, its financial basis, and the extent of its trade relations with Russian companies.

In addition to being an Azerbaijani citizen, Adnan Ahmedzade also received British citizenship. How he obtained it is known only to him and the British authorities.

One of the most sensational revelations is that Akhmadzade is suspected of registering the $108 million superyacht "Galactica Super Nova" in his name in coordination with Vagit Alekperov, the president of Lukoil, Russia’s second-largest oil company.

The yacht was hidden in a Mediterranean port to avoid seizure by Western authorities. Alekperov was sanctioned by the UK on April 13, 2022.

Lukoil co-owner and billionaire Vagit Alekperov has apparently sold his 70-meter superyacht Galactica Super Nova and purchased a new 80-meter yacht called Genesis.

The ownership of the yacht Galactica Super Nova changed last year. Until the summer, the vessel belonged to the Maltese company Nova 70 LTD, which Alekperov controlled through another Maltese company, Waves Holdings LTD, and the Cypriot Grindale Investments LTD. However, according to the Maritime Portal, on July 11, the yacht was transferred to Six Star Shipping LTD, an unknown Marshall Islands offshore company. Two months later, the yacht was renamed Gaja.

Interestingly, this yacht was recently registered in the name of Azerbaijani businessman Adnan Ahmedzade* (Luxstar LTD). It is alleged that this move was taken to evade sanctions and conceal assets.

The transponder on Vagit Alekperov’s former yacht has been turned on again.

The Galactica Super Nova was listed for sale in August 2021. Alekperov was asking €75 million. Broker Northrop and Johnson also posted a listing for the yacht under its new name. However, the yacht’s page now states that it is "no longer for sale." However, several other brokers still have listings for the yacht under its old name.

Given the seriousness and international implications of the case, all entities and individuals involved in the cover-up of the superyacht Galactica Super Nova, including Alkagesta Ltd and associated shadow companies controlled or affiliated with Adnan Ahmadzadeh, must be formally investigated by the UK, EU and international bodies.

The asset sanctioned by the UK, a $100 million superyacht, was registered to a British citizen (Adnan Ahmedzadeh) and subsequently disappeared from international tracking systems (via GPS deactivation) in the Mediterranean Sea.

Despite holding a British passport, Adnan Ahmadzade is now accused of using his British citizenship to provide a legal cover for Alekperov’s assets and to facilitate oil trading for Russian oil companies such as Lukoil, Tatneft, Sibur, Surgutneftegaz and others.