On 14 October, Balkan Insight published a report titled ‘Albania Emerges as Destination Port for Illicit Oil from Russia and Libya’. According to the report, low-quality, sanctioned oil products originating in Russia and Libya are finding a way through Albanian ports, hidden behind forged cargo declarations or inside the modified hulls of fishing boats. In one case, the Queen Majeda ship - owned by Eldawadi Shipping Ltd of Nuri Eldawadi, a Libyan citizen - carried oil supplied by Libya’s Brega company, travelling from Benghazi to Albania. ‘Low taxes and state subsidies make the smuggling of Libyan oil particularly lucrative, in turn filling the coffers of the various armed factions operating in Libya,’ the report claims.
Read the full report here.