From Russian oil to grain: the opaque business of a Geneva-based trader

Zurich, Lausanne, 13. December 2024

Since the start of the war against Ukraine, trading in Russian commodities has been a high-risk business. Major traders have withdrawn from this activity and as a result, smaller, little-known companies have stepped in. In a new research, Public Eye outlines how the owner of the Geneva-based oil trading company Paramount Energy & Commodities SA, subject to sanctions in the UK, became involved in agri trading with the help of an intricate web of companies and a Swiss consultant. Switzerland’s Council of States can now shed some light on this notorious sector by introducing a public register on ultimate beneficial owners of companies.

In view of the sanctions imposed on the oil trade and the systematic plundering of grain in the occupied territories of south-eastern Ukraine, trading in Russian commodities is a particularly risky business. Yet some Swiss commodity traders are still involved in the trade with Russia. One such example is the agri trader Harvest Group, registered in Switzerland since 2015 which purchased more than 90 shipments of Russian grain between Spring 2022 and Summer 2024. Harvest Group, based in Morges (Vaud), is run by a former Kazakh judo champion residing on Lake Geneva. As highlighted by our investigation, his intricate web of companies includes half-a-dozen other Swiss commodity companies. Harvest Commodities, the Group’s Geneva arm, was not just backed by Almaz Alsenov. Niels Troost, a long-time Geneva-based oil trader was also invested in the business until September 2023.

The Dutchman has been involved primarily in trading Russian oil, as Public Eye has reported on several occasions. In 2023, the activities of his Geneva-based company Paramount Energy & Commodities SA and its subsidiary in Dubai attracted the attention of Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco). The latter ultimately forwarded the case to the Office of the Attorney General, which launched a preliminary investigation into an alleged breach of the Russian oil embargo. Fo the same reasons, Troost and the two Paramount branches have been subject to sanctions in the UK since early 2024.

What remains unclear is whether the resourceful trader took a stake in Harvest Commodities SA to turn its back on Russian oil trade. Until recently, the website of Harvest Group also listed trading crude oil and refined products as a business activity. This mention has now been deleted. What is certain, however, is that the Harvest Group’s Geneva arm was managed by the same Geneva-based consultant as Paramount Energy & Commodities until June 2024. In October 2024, Harvest Commodities SA was put into liquidation, while Harvest Group remains active.

To become an internationally trustworthy commodities hub, Switzerland not only needs to introduce stricter due diligence obligations, but also transparency about the beneficial owners of companies. The introduction of a public register, which the Council of States is discussing on 18. December, is long overdue in view of the particularly risky nature of the commodities sector.

More information here or from:

Oliver Classen, Media Director, +41 (0)44 277 79 06, oliver.classen@publiceye.ch
Silvie Lang, Soft Commodities Expert, +41 (0)79 218 50 78, silvie.lang@publiceye.ch