The next part will explore three crucial steps that helped Troost in his attempts to cover his tracks for the illegal transport of Russian Oil. What methods worked for the Dutch oil dealer, and how did he allegedly get away with it (in some countries)?
Step 1- Sanctions forced him to shift his activities outside of Switzerland
When Investigations began against Troost’s primary company, Paramount SA, due to the illegal sale and delivery of Russian oil, he immediately shifted his business activity to UAE. He established Paramount Energy & Commodities DMCC (“Paramount DMCC”) since Dubai is considered a safe environment for businesses that want to remain private and avoid legal issues in their home countries. Troost needed a place to take advantage of a much more forgiving legal system that doesn’t always follow international laws. Mr. Francois Edouard Mauron, Troost’s former business partner, ran the new Dubai subsidiary, and with his help, the company has increased its oil sales conveniently since February 2022. Eventually, the Dubai-based company, Niels Troost and his business partner were also sanctioned.
Step 2- Troost used a shadowy shipping company
Troost’s favorite method of registering companies abroad came in handy when he needed a “Ghost Ship” to help him continue his illegal oil transactions; he was confident enough to use Livna Shipping Limited (“Livna”), a part of the Paramount group since he had been using this method in the past. Livna was registered in Hong Kong in 2014 and has operated for this type of shipping since its establishment; it was used for the distribution of Russian crude oil from Gazprom Neft to Demex Trading Limited DMCC, Paramount Energy & Commodities SA, and eventually further to third parties. By using Livna and working with an untraceable company, he could continue making millions from transactions with Gazprom Neft post-international sanctions. Documents show he used this shipping method until late April 2022, and presumably, up to this day, only now he operates in secret.
Step 3- Troost’s hid his visits to Russia
Estimates suggest he earned up to $20 million per oil shipment, which is why he used all the tools he had to continue traveling to Russia and keeping the shipments running. But for obvious reasons, he had to hide his travels to Russia. He used a Russian oligarch’s private aviation company, Tulpar Air LLC, to secretly fly from Istanbul to Russia with his Liberian passport. This airline is part of JSC TAIF-NK (“TAIF-NK”), which provides fuel to the Russian army. This company received over $200M in payments from Paramount DMCC around the same time as these secret flights. While this operation seemed to work, he also secured himself with foreign citizenship to Liberia, where he was officially meant to strengthen the relationship between Liberia and Switzerland. The Liberian President George Weah pointed out that Troost is also a Crew Member for the Eagle Express Business Aviation; evidence of Troost operating a flight and contributing to Eagle Aviation has yet to be found. His connection to Libera made the traveling to Russia easier and helped him skip the step of stamping his primary passport in Russia.
When money flowed into his bank accounts, Troost, time after time, didn’t show any signs of halting his business partnership with Russian-owned companies. Instead, he found new and creative ways to keep his business going and bypass obstacles. He didn’t obey international sanctions, and when one door closed, he had no hesitation in entering through the window. These calculated tactics pointed to an individual with the ingenuity of a white-collar criminal. The last part will deal with why there aren’t any records of Troost wrapping up his partnership with Russian companies.