Gulf links
Russian sanctions , Issue 1641
Sailing under flags of convenience and with their ownership switched to keep everyone guessing, a “shadow fleet” of vessels dock at Russian Baltic and Black Sea ports and, with transponders turned off, set sail through international waters to India, China and elsewhere.
Just before Christmas, Keir Starmer eventually announced sanctions against two firms instrumental in this business. The companies, 2Rivers DMCC of Dubai and 2Rivers Pte Ltd of Singapore, were, said No 10, “key linchpins in enabling the trading of Putin’s precious oil”.
Coral growth
The 2Rivers group was previously Coral Energy, founded by Azerbaijani national Tahir Garayev, until its managers bought it out last year. The company is led by former Moscow banker Talat Safarov, also from Azerbaijan, and has its headquarters in the Jumeirah Lake Towers low-tax “free zone” in Dubai.
The government identified 20 shadow vessels associated with the business and claimed to have sanctioned 100 ships, including 93 oil tankers. Thanks to these efforts, it said, “ships are left idling uselessly outside ports, which is costing Putin and his war effort millions in wasted funds”.
2Rivers says it will challenge the sanctions, claiming the action “fails to reflect the company’s current structure, leadership, and operations following significant transformations over the past year, and a full exit from Russian trading activities”.
But the move says much about Dubai as a weak link in international efforts against Russia. A host of other companies based there also appear on the UK’s sanctions list.
Feels like haven
Meanwhile, the emirate is also becoming the tax haven of choice for wealthy Russians and others whose money is less welcome elsewhere these days – cushioning them nicely from the effects of sanctions and thus tempering disquiet with Putin among the elite.
The sanctions come not long after Starmer and chancellor Rachel Reeves bent over backwards to ensure Dubai state-owned DP World (the port company which owns P&O Ferries) announced a UK investment at its October International Investment Summit. And oddly, the latest sanctions announcement contained no mention that the offending company operated from Dubai.
Surely Starmer can’t be nervous about upsetting the Emiratis who are doing so much to undermine sanctions against Putin?
More top stories in the latest issue:
DRAX EVASION
MPs and peers are raising pointed parliamentary questions about the many dubious business practices of tree-burning power company Drax.
LOOSE THREADS
Fashion retailer Shein benefits not just from worrying sourcing practices and an import-duty tax break, but pitifully low corporate tax payments.
STEEL AWAY
Boasts about steelmaking on Teesside from regional mayor Ben Houchen look misplaced, as government support focuses on British Steel’s Scunthorpe plant.
ARMED FARCES
Is the British Army Reserve hollowed out and continuing to decline, as an independent review has stated? ‘Soldier Blue’ offers a view from the inside.
PRESUMED GUILTY
Police are under pressure to recognise when children are being exploited as the CCRC returns the case of a 17-year-old convicted on County Lines offences.
UNDER DESTRUCTION
Yet more universities are cutting staff, having borrowed money to expand in the misguided belief that lucrative international fees would keep flowing in.
RISK ASSESSMENT
Four mothers brought together by the deaths of their sons on scouting trips are calling for the Scout Organisation to be monitored and regulated like schools.
HASHED TAG
An elderly protester was hauled off to prison just before Christmas after Serco bungled her electronic tag and then told the MoJ she had refused to wear it.
WATER TORTURE
Residents at a Cornish park home site are stuck in the middle of a dispute between South West Water and the site owner, Alfie Best’s company.
Next issue on sale: 5th February 2025
