EU and UK probe Maltese trader Alkagesta over Russian oil sales to Libya

Alkagesta, Malta’s biggest oil bunkering company, is being investigated by EU and UK authorities over suspected illegal Russian oil sales to Libya.

The firm has previously faced accusations of involvement in Libya’s oil smuggling networks, allegedly using fake certificates of origin to conceal the true source of the petroleum, according to media reports.

Libya, which imports around a third of its refined oil products from Russia due to insufficient refining capacity, has become a major market for contraband oil. According to sources, at least two recent shipments carried Russian oil on behalf of Alkagesta, fraudulently claiming that the cargo originated from Kazakhstan.

Alkagesta is reported to use Raiffeisen Bank in Austria — one of the last European banks still operating in Russia — to facilitate its operations. In Malta, the firm has also hired Russian-speaking employees, raising further questions about its client base.

Industry insiders estimate that Russia’s so-called “Mediterranean Dark Fleet” has grown into a $10 billion annual industry, with routes spanning Syria, Egypt, Cyprus, Malta and Libya. Malta, strategically located in the central Mediterranean, has become a crucial hub for both Libyan oil smuggling and potentially the transfer of Russian oil.

Transactions involving Russian oil have been recorded at Hurd’s Bank — an offshore anchorage zone near Malta — though experts believe the true volume of these sales is heavily under-reported.

In response to inquiries, Alkagesta insisted that it operates with a “high level of compliance” wherever it does business and threatened legal action against what it described as “false accusations.”