A Romanian millionaire’s continued oils transports to Russia
In 2022, months after Russia invaded Ukraine and the European Union had leveled sprawling sanctions against Moscow, a Romanian businessman continued using a fleet of shipping oil tankers to transport Russian oil.
Gheorghe Bosînceanu, who controls a strong fleet that was built at a shipyard at Romania’s Black Sea port city of Constanta, hid his shady-but-lucrative business dealings with Moscow behind a labyrinth of companies registered in offshore jurisdictions. Bosînceanu, who currently resides in Monaco, took over the former Romanian state-owned shipyard following a controversial transaction in 2002 with the Romanian government. The then-serving Prime Minister, Adrian Năstase, latter served jail time for corruption.
Key facts
- An international investigation, dubbed „Fueling the war” , revealed a Romanian entity was on a list of companies that continued transporting Russian oil after Moscow launched its war.
- Context.ro has uncovered the beneficiary hidden behind the listed company to which the shipping fleet belongs, which was registered in a tax haven in XX and its oil vessels operated from the Romania’s Constanta port.
Business during the war
In February 2022, after the invasion of Ukraine, the European Union imposed a wave of economic sanctions against Russia, which aimed to curb the Kremlin’s ability to fund its war efforts. Much of Moscow’s income is generated by oil and coal exports.
A journalistic investigation by Investigate Europe and Reporters United scrutinized the Russian oil and coal shipments after the outbreak of war. It uncovered ship owners who have continued to do businesses that fueled money to Russia after February 2022. Businessmen from all over Europe have provided Russia with ships to export its fuel all over the world which has helped to boost revenues for the Kremlin.
While there is no evidence that these shipments have violated any sanctions against Russia, it is clear that they have contributed to Moscow’s budget and brings into question moral responsibility.
Data from January-August 2022, analyzed by Investigate Europe, shows that most shipments from Russian ports were made by vessels owned by companies from Greece, China, and the United Arab Emirates. By cargo capacity, Greek companies Tms Tankers Ltd and Minerva Marine Inc, alongside Scf Management Services Dubai are the top three Russian fossil fuel carriers since the start of the war.
Histria fleet
One of the companies involved in the transport of Russian oil is owned by Histria Shipmanagement company. On paper, that company is owned by Romanian citizen Victorita Bosinceanu, and by an offshore company registered in Cyprus called AGI-Argonaut Global Investments Limited. Documents obtained by Context.ro, However, indicate that Gheorghe Bosinceanu is the ultimate beneficial owner (UBO). Last year, eight ships controlled by Histria Shipmanagement transported Russian oil mainly to the EU and Turkey. The total capacity of the 22 shipments is close to 1 million tonnes.
Gheorghe Bosînceanu (Photo credit: Ziua de Constanța)
Gheorghe Bosinceanu is one of Romania’s richest men, his fortune estimated in 2017 at more than €100 million. In 2002, through an offshore company registered in the Marshall Islands, he bought a majority stake in Constanta Shipyard, one of the largest shipyards in Europe. This offshore is partially owned by Histria Shipmanagement. It was the only valid bid submitted for the privatization of this major Romanian shipyard and it proved to be an inspired acquisition.
Shortly after the contract was signed, the Romanian government decided to write off the shipyard’s debts which were around $30 million. Separately, Gheorghe Bosinceanu’s name appears in the Paradise Papers as a beneficiary of the services of Appleby, an international offshore legal services provider. The Romanian businessman from Constanta was investigated by Romania’s National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) in the so-called „Fleet” case, in which Romanian prosecutors probed a controversial sale in which the state-owned company Petromin gave up 16 ships. The deal caused damages to the state budget estimated at more than $300 million. The director of Histria Shipmanagement, Radu Rusen, was also indicted in the same case. The case was subsequently closed.
All of the ships operated by Histria Shipmanagement: Ambra; Atlas; Crown; Dione; Gemma; Giada; Prince, and Tiger — were built at the Constanta shipyard, which Bosinceanu took over after 2002 privatization.
Constanta shipyard (Photo credit: Context.ro)
A maze of companies
Theoretically, a ship must be „registered” in the ship registry of the owner’s country of origin. But some countries operate so-called „open registries,” which allow ships to be registered in countries with no link to the owner or their country of origin. The procedure allows ship owners to register each vessel using a separate company whose only asset is that vessel. These vessels then sail under so-called national “flags of convenience”.
That is why 40% of the world’s shipping capacity is accounted for by ships registered in countries such as Panama, Liberia, and the Marshall Islands.
Following the same procedure, Histria tankers involved in the transport of Russian oil are registered as follows: six of them sail under the Liberian flag, one under the Maltese and another one under the Marshall Islands flag. However, all the companies owning the Histria tankers are affiliated to the Constanta shipyard. According to data aggregated by Context.ro using the DATACROS platform, Histria Shipmanagement SRL, namely Gheorghe Bosinceanu, is a majority shareholder in each of these shell companies registered in permissive maritime jurisdictions.
Photo credit: Facebook/ Șantierul Naval Constanța
In 2019, the Constanta Shipyard entered the public agenda after winning, through a joint venture with the French Naval Group, a contract worth more than €1 billion for the construction of four corvettes and the modernisation of other ships of the Romanian Army. The contract has not yet been signed, one of the reasons for the delay being disagreements between the two winning companies.
Gheorghe Bosinceanu, Histria Shipmanagement and Radu Rusen did not respond to Context.ro’s request for comments by the time the article was published.
Despre autor: Mihaela Tănase
who controls a strong fleet that was built at a shipyard ?
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