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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
In the high-profile criminal case involving SOCAR executive Adnan Ahmedzade, another controversial figure has unexpectedly emerged — British oil trader Azim Novruzov, whose name has previously been linked to a number of scandals.
Billionaire Ahmedzade has been in the investigative isolation facility in Baku since September 2025. Recently, his arrest was extended. The former deputy head of SOCAR’s investment department is accused of large-scale financial machinations and other crimes, with a seizure imposed on his property and accounts. Azerbaijani media reported that the matter involves losses in billions of dollars and even deception of the country’s leadership.
According to investigators, after several months in pre-trial detention, Ahmedzade began giving testimony. As a result, law enforcement obtained serious materials regarding his business partner Azim Novruzov. In parallel, journalists from the Maltese publication The Maltese Herald conducted their own investigation, as a structure linked to SOCAR operates on Malta — the company Alkagesta.
Alkagesta is one of the key players in the fuel bunkering market and uses the oil terminal in Birżebbuġa for transshipment of oil. According to journalists, both Ahmedzade and Novruzov are directly involved in the activities of this company — the latter through the structure Sumato Energy FZE. This same business network is also linked to billionaire Anar Aliyev, former Minister of Labor and Social Protection of Azerbaijan. Novruzov and Aliyev studied at Nakhchivan State University, and their connections, according to the investigation, date back to their student years.
Novruzov’s figure has attracted attention not only from Azerbaijani investigators but also from British authorities. EU and UK authorities are also investigating Alkagesta — particularly over suspicions of selling oil with falsified certificates of origin.
SOCAR subsidiary and offshore haven
Starting from September 2025, The Maltese Herald journalists published a series of articles about the activities of the Maltese structure linked to SOCAR, where Azim Novruzov plays a key role, according to their data. It concerns a complex offshore oil trading scheme through Europe.
The Maltese Herald investigations devote considerable attention to Azim Novruzov’s persona. The trader himself, who resides in London, categorically denied all accusations against him through British lawyers. He also denied having close business or personal ties with Adnan Ahmedzade.
According to Novruzov, their acquaintance occurred while working at Union Grand Energy Pte Ltd (UGE). He insists that contacts were episodic, not systematic, and limited to purely commercial matters.
Novruzov claims he left UGE in April 2013, after which he moved to the UK with his family, where he has resided ever since.
Adnan Ahmedzade
However, The Maltese Herald journalists continued to publish investigations into Alkagesta’s activities — Malta’s largest company for handling oil cargoes, linking its operations to large-scale schemes of international oil trading.
After reports of a major deal to sell Nigerian oil from Maltese territory, it became clear: a powerful global-scale oil trader operates on the island. The Maltese Herald journalists also stated that Malta is effectively aiding the operations of the Russian «shadow fleet» — as evidenced by irregular routes of Maltese vessels in the Black Sea and their activity in the Hurd’s Bank area, which is called an offshore haven for such tankers.
According to the investigations, Maltese infrastructure is used as a transshipment hub for Russian oil: the raw material is transported by the «shadow fleet», stored on the island, and documented with forged certificates of origin — allegedly from Turkey or Kazakhstan.
In connection with this, the UK and EU authorities have launched a joint investigation.
Alkagesta has received about 40 million euros in profit in recent years, its assets exceed 200 million euros, and its oil stocks are estimated at around 100 million euros. It cannot be ruled out that the «Chinese» oil imported to Malta for resale via Hurd’s Bank may be of Russian origin.
The island’s geography makes it a convenient hub for access to Libyan oil as well as illegal trade on the maritime shelf. At the same time, Alkagesta is seen as a trading division linked to the state company SOCAR.
«Briton» with a Turkish passport
While Adnan Ahmedzade has been in the pre-trial detention center of Azerbaijan’s State Security Service for almost half a year, his partner in Maltese operations, Azim Novruzov, has disappeared from the public eye. He lives in London and communicates with the media exclusively through lawyers.
Media have already characterized Azim Novruzov as a specialist in creating financial schemes and money laundering. According to them, he uses bank accounts in Turkey and other jurisdictions for operations. Novruzov also holds a Turkish passport.
He previously worked in London as director of ENVIROINVEST.
Novruzov positions himself as a businessman with a financial education and over 20 years of experience in energy markets. He is a registered shareholder of Sumato Energy FZE.
The Sumato Energy Group Ltd group in the late 2000s was among the buyers of Azerbaijani Azeri Light oil exported through the Ceyhan and Supsa ports.
This company was also mentioned in OCCRP and ICIJ investigations in the context of operations involving the state oil company SOCAR.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "Inside Alkagesta’s €200M operation: How London-based trader Azim Novruzov concealed dark fleet oil shipments near Hurd’s Bank". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: Rozsliduvach.
