Georgian Facilitators of MODAFL’s Crude Oil Sales

As opposed to most of our publications revolving around East Asian clients, this time we’ll focus on the strange buildup of cases in European-Georgian companies.

WikIran exposes four Georgia-based companies and oil refineries that purchased crude oil and condensates from Iranian Ministry of Defense (MODAFL) and probably did so more than once. These companies are managed, owned and affiliated with Iranian nationals, possibly with MODAFL itself, information which can be inferred considering the Iranian names of their representatives.

As a result of the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, Georgia became a hub for foreign trade based on expats and refugees. This economic boom also has its downturns, making Georgia a fertile ground for sanction-bypassing for both Russia and Iran. This includes MODAFL, that abuses this situation as well to finance its malign activities.

Blue Oil Company LLC

Registration Number: 406251764 - Email: [email protected]

This company is based in Tbilisi, but serves as an intermediary for MODAFL’s Sahara Thunder, later on shipping it to China. Taking the risk associated with it is not without its significant perks- 20 USD discount for the price of an oil barrel.

In a correspondence regarding Sahara Thunder’s deals with Blue Oil, Sahara Thunder dictates how it falsely “blended” its oil, from three different Iranian tankers: Argo (IMO: 9572111) MT Global Beauty (IMO: 9221267) and Harmony (IMO: 9397030), by offloading it to Dune (IMO: 9569712), only to later be offloaded to Cathay Phoenix (IMO: 9249324) to completely hide its Iranian origin before shipping it to China. This correspondence also shows direct contact with the National Iranian Tanker Company- NITC.

Ghatran Petroleum LTD

- registration Number: 400052802 - Email: [email protected] - Managing Director S.J. Mousavi - Probably affiliated with Ghatran Kaveh oil Petroleum, an Iranian producer and exporter of refined petroleum products

Even though there isn’t any proof for Ghatran Petroleum receiving MODAFL’s petroleum, it did sign a contract with Sahara Thunder, and worked towards providing guarantees for a 2 million barrels deal.

Motor Oil and Refining Company (private equity)/ Engine Oil Refinery LLC

- registration number: 406367934 - Managing Director: Hossein Bakhtash - Representative: Ehsan Abbaspour - The companies are mentioned interchangeably

There wasn’t much information regarding these companies, for unclear reasons. Possibly for staying “below the radar” due to their high linkage to Iran.