BRUSSELS: The European Union has imposed sanctions on a little-known Pakistani-Canadian businessman for allegedly facilitating the trade of sanctioned Russian oil and helping sustain Moscow’s war economy.
The latest measures, adopted by the EU on Monday, target individuals and entities accused of assisting Russia in bypassing Western restrictions on crude oil exports. The new sanctions bar EU citizens and companies from conducting business with those listed and restrict their access to shipping, insurance and other critical services. To date, the EU has sanctioned more than 2,600 individuals and companies linked to Russia’s war effort.
Among the nine individuals and entities newly designated for supporting Russia’s so-called shadow fleet of oil tankers is Murtaza Lakhani, a Canadian-Pakistani oil trader and chief executive of trading firm Mercantile & Maritime. According to the EU’s Official Journal, Lakhani, through his companies, has enabled the shipment and export of Russian oil, particularly from state-owned giant Rosneft.
The EU said Lakhani “controls vessels transporting crude oil or petroleum products originating in Russia or being exported from Russia,” placing him among traders accused of helping Moscow circumvent sanctions.
Lakhani began his career at global commodities trader Glencore, where he worked on Iraqi oil exports during the Saddam Hussein era. He later moved to Iraq’s Kurdistan region, acting as an intermediary between the regional oil ministry and international companies to market oil independently of Baghdad. During this period, he also played a role in facilitating oil and gas agreements between the Kurdistan Regional Government and Rosneft, working closely with Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin.
Building on these ties, Lakhani later partnered with leading oil trader Vitol to acquire a five percent stake in Rosneft’s flagship Vostok Oil project in the Arctic, one of Russia’s largest oil developments in decades.
Speaking at Russia’s St Petersburg International Economic Forum in June, Lakhani downplayed the long-term impact of sanctions on Moscow, saying: “This country is the largest resource country in the world. Hampering it is a very short-term effect, not a long-term goal for anybody. They will always need Russia.”
Lakhani, Mercantile & Maritime, Litasco Middle East DMCC, and 2Rivers Group did not respond to requests for comment.
Despite rolling out 19 sanctions packages, the EU acknowledges that Russia has adapted to many of the measures and continues to sell millions of barrels of oil to major buyers such as India and China, often at discounted prices. Much of this oil is transported via a growing shadow fleet operating outside Western regulatory and insurance frameworks.
The EU is expected to add more than 40 additional vessels to its shadow fleet blacklist this week, taking the total number of sanctioned ships to nearly 600.
By Reuters
