Maltese offshore hub for Russian shadow oil: How Azim Novruzov and Anar Aliyev weaponized SOCAR Trading for illicit profits

The scandal involving SOCAR appears to be entering a new stage. With investigators reportedly focusing more closely on senior executive Adnan Ahmedzade, scrutiny is now turning toward Azim Novruzov, a British oil trader with a controversial reputation.

The influential billionaire Adnan Ahmedzade (also a UK citizen) has been held in a pre-trial detention center in Baku since September 2025. Recently, his detention was extended: the so-called “Azerbaijani Rothschild” is accused of financial fraud and other crimes. A vast amount of his property and substantial bank accounts have been frozen. Before his arrest, Ahmedzade served as Deputy Head of the Investment Department at the state company SOCAR.

At the time, Azerbaijani media reported that the detained Ahmedzade had allegedly “swindled” President Ilham Aliyev out of 5 billion dollars.

Less than six months later, according to reports, Ahmedzade — accustomed to consuming premium black caviar in lavish quantities — has begun to talk in prison. Investigators now reportedly have a substantial dossier on his business partner Azim Novruzov. At the same time, journalists from the Maltese publication The Maltese Herald conducted their own investigations, as a SOCAR-affiliated entity called Alkagesta operates on the island of Malta.

Alkagesta is a major oil bunkering company that uses the oil terminal in Birżebbuġa for transporting petroleum. Together with Adnan Ahmedzade, Azim Novruzov is directly linked to the company’s activities as the owner of Sumato Energy FZE. The same network is reportedly connected to the controversial billionaire Anar Aliyev, former Minister of Labor and Social Protection of Azerbaijan. Both Novruzov and Aliyev are graduates of Nakhchivan State University, and their “friendship” appears to date back to their student years.

Notably, Azim Novruzov has attracted the attention not only of investigators in Baku but also of UK authorities. Today, EU and British officials are reportedly investigating Alkagesta over the sale of oil using forged certificates.

SOCAR Branch and Offshore Haven

Since September 2025, journalists from The Maltese Herald have published several investigations into how the SOCAR “branch” on Malta operates with the active involvement of Azim Novruzov.

And Mr. Novruzov is devoted many paragraphs in these investigations, but Novruzov, hiding out in London, has rejected all accusations against him through his British lawyers.

Azim Novruzov’s “daguerreotype” on the pages of The Maltese Herald

Novruzov also denied that he had close contact with Adnan Ahmedzade.

He claims that he met Ahmedzade when they were working at Union Grand Energy Pte Ltd (UGE).

According to him, their interactions were not regular and were limited exclusively to trading matters. Novruzov himself left UGE in April 2013.