British tackle Dutch oil trader over ties with Russia | Abroad

Geneva-based Paramount Energy & Commodities SA and founder Niels Troost are “involved in obtaining benefits from or supporting the government of Russia,” according to the British Treasury. The Dutchman is, according to the British business newspaper Financial Times ‘apart from Russian oligarchs and officials, the most prominent figure in the energy trade, which is directly targeted by Western sanctions.’

Britain’s Treasury said Thursday it was imposing the sanctions on Troost because of its connection to Paramount SA, which has been “involved in obtaining a benefit from or supporting the government of Russia.” The sanctions include freezing all of the Dutchman’s assets in Britain, imposing a travel ban and restricting his access to certain British financial services.

The ministry also links Troost to Paramount DMCC. The latter company is based in Dubai and was also sanctioned by Great Britain in November. Britain’s Foreign Office said at the time that it was “known for using opaque ownership structures and used by Russia to soften the blow of oil-related sanctions.” According to the Ministry of Finance, Troost ‘directly or indirectly’ owned or had control over the subsidiary.

The Financial Times (FT) revealed last year that Paramount DMCC had traded a Russian crude that was consistently priced above the G-7 sanctions ceiling of $60 using Western insurance services. “A possible breach of Western restrictions imposed in an attempt to limit Moscow’s oil revenues,” it said at the time. The oil, known as Espo blend, is produced in eastern Russia and exported from the port of Kozmino in Russia’s far east, mainly to refineries in China.

Paramount SA and Paramount DMCC stated at the time, according to the newspaper, that the two entities were operated and managed “completely independently” and that Troost had no “direct” interest in Dubai-based Paramount. It denied that it had violated any Western sanctions and said its activities complied with all applicable “laws and regulations.”

“Troos has long maintained that he was not involved in the creation of Paramount DMCC, that he had no management role in the company and that its operations, as a separate legal entity based in the UAE, were not subject to European restrictions,” the FT said . A spokesperson said in a response to the newspaper on Thursday that “Paramount SA has at all times acted in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations” and that the company intends to “challenge this ill-conceived and incorrect action.”

According to The Maritime Executive, in mid-2022, when the first attempts to sanction Russian oil were underway in Europe, Paramount DMCC began applying a similar trading pattern to Paramount SA from Dubai. “The United Arab Emirates is not demanding any compliance with the G7 price ceiling for Russian oil, which allows anonymously owned subsidiaries to carry out transactions at prices above $60 per barrel without repercussions or transparency,” the statement said on Friday. news medium, specialized in reporting on the maritime industry.

‘Swiss authorities recently investigated Paramount SA in connection with Paramount DMCC’s activities in the Russian oil trading market. Swiss law does not hold Swiss companies responsible for all actions of their foreign subsidiaries, but there are other possible penalties,” the maritime news outlet said.

Niels Troost, founder of Paramount Energy & Commodities SA, has been active in the oil industry for over 25 years. “His primary focus is on further developing Paramount Energy’s global operations and diversifying into other commodity markets,” the company’s website said. Troost, born in Zaandam in 1969, started his career in the oil trade in 1992 after obtaining his degree in International Business from the HES in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

The Dutchman is ‘a real entrepreneur’ and was also one of the founders of Tenergy Trading SA, an oil and gas company in Switzerland. “Niels has several other business interests in the global resources sector and is a passionate advocate for strengthening Africa and ensuring an equitable future for all,” the curriculum reads.

The Wall Street Journal reported in May 2022 that Paramount is buying Russian oil at huge discounts, earning at least $20 million per freight. In an email to the American business newspaper, Troost said that Paramount bought the oil from independent companies and that these were long-term contracts concluded before the invasion of Ukraine.

According to Intelligence Online, Troost has been working ‘largely in secret’ since the media identified him as a major energy broker for Russia and the FBI was warned last year about the ‘Russian’ oil trader’s secret US business interests.

“He denies accusations of sanctions evasion or illegal activities, but recently canceled a trip to New York, according to a source,” the Paris-based intelligence news outlet wrote in May 2023.

The announcement of the British sanctions against him are part of a package of new restrictions on Russian defense companies that escaped previous rounds of sanctions, including manufacturers of missile launch systems, rockets, explosives, machine tools and other goods for making and using military equipment. This also includes the state-owned Sverdlov, the largest Russian ammunition manufacturer.