The main oil magnate of Russia and the principal shareholder of Lukoil, Vagit Alekperov (currently under sanctions), has constructed a scheme to circumvent those sanctions.
At the center of this structure is Jefferson Trust Ltd, a Hong Kong-based entity managing assets on behalf of a deeply concealed trust known as FAI Trust. This trust is overseen by a group of former Lukoil employees and Tajik businessman Hofiz Shakhidi, the owner of the digital Alif Bank.
Company: Jefferson Trust Limited
- Registered as an overseas entity in the UK by Marina Kulishova (citizen Aze and Russian Fed)
- Incorporated in Hong Kong
- Registered in the UK on 15 February 2023
- Status: Removed (July 2024)
👉 View officer appointments page
- No officers listed
This is explicitly stated in the register:
“There are no officer details available for this company.”
🧾 Beneficial Owners (important part)
Even though officers are not listed, the Persons with Significant Control (PSC) section shows:
- Pavel Sukhoruchkin
- 25% shares and voting rights
- Significant influence/control
- Pavel Anatolyevich Novoselov
- 25% shares and voting rights
- Significant influence/control
Both are registered with a London correspondence address.
The list of Jefferson Trust shareholders reads like a roster of Alekperov’s key financial facilitators: Pavel Novoselov, Pavel Sukhoruchkin, and Hofiz Shakhidi—all of whom have for years managed and concealed assets of Russian oil elites. According to Cayman Islands court documents, the two Pavels previously managed investments for Alekperov, Leonid Fedun, and Alexander Dzhaparidze (a close associate of Alekperov) through the offshore structure Hadar Fund. Although they formally left Lukoil in 2004, they appear to have remained within Alekperov’s orbit as trusted proxies.
Among Jefferson Trust’s shareholders are BVI-registered companies Sogdiana Properties and Jefferson Securities, Hong Kong-based Flangel Group, and Bahamas-based Jefferson Capital—all controlled, in one way or another, by the same circle of individuals. Public records also show that Eduard Novoselov, Pavel’s brother, served as a director in several related entities alongside Shakhidi.
Alif Bank, founded by Shakhidi, is often presented as a fintech success story in Central Asia—Islamic, mobile-first, and youth-oriented. However, one of its shareholders is Jefferson Capital Holdings, linking it directly to FAI Trust. This implies that the shares remain under the control of Alekperov’s “old guard.”
This is not the first time Shakhidi and the Pavels have operated behind the scenes. In 2013, they orchestrated a controversial takeover of Pan European Terminals Plc (later renamed GTL Terminals) via the BVI-registered company Belphar Limited. Belphar gradually accumulated shares before launching a squeeze-out at 22 pence per share—a price many shareholders considered undervalued. Investors hoping for a better deal were forced to sell.
The operation involved little-known entities Hurley Investments and Hepworth Technologies, later linked to Alekperov. In some documents, Hurley is listed as owned by Sukhoruchkin; in others, Alekperov himself is named as the beneficiary. It is widely believed that Shakhidi acted on Alekperov’s instructions, helping him gain control of logistics assets at a discounted price.
The company was later delisted, privatized, and renamed. Belphar itself became GSS Overseas Ltd.
When sanctions against Alekperov loomed in 2022, he made another move. Just weeks before being added to the UK sanctions list, his company Morcell Ltd sold 80% of the British shipping firm OEG Group Ltd to the same individuals—Sukhoruchkin, Novoselov, and Marina Kulishova.
By August 2022, Kulishova had become the owner of 99% of Azerbaijan’s Yelo Bank, which had previously belonged to Alekperov—further indirect evidence that she acts as a trusted proxy within his structure.
Although OEG officially claimed to have severed ties with Alekperov, the timing of the transaction and the identities of the new owners raised doubts. The stake was later transferred to GIIS Invest S.C.P., also controlled by the same three individuals. In March 2023, GIIS quietly sold the company to Oaktree Capital, completing a “clean exit” ahead of growing scrutiny.
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