By Habjon Hasani
An energy project backed by former U.S. Ambassador to Albania, Yuri Kim, is suspected of serving as a financial source for a network of Turkish-Iranian companies sanctioned by the United States, businesses linked to Iran’s military guard, and hydrocarbon smuggling.
But let’s start from the beginning.
In 2022, shortly after the war in Ukraine began, former U.S. Ambassador Yuri Kim publicly endorsed a project that aimed to bring two Thermal Generation Ships (TGS) from Bangladesh to Albania. These ships were supposed to produce electricity.
The Albanian government carried out a suspicious and rushed procurement process to purchase these two TGS vessels, which were brought in by an American company.
However, an international investigation consulted by Hashtag.al revealed that these thermal generation ships produce electricity at four times the cost of the energy that Albania exports. This dismal efficiency caused delays in their activation, but the contract signed by the Albanian government mandates their use.
Thus, in order to start and operate these ships, fuel had to be secured.
To address this, the Albanian Power Corporation (KESH) placed an order on the international market for an initial supply of approximately 21,000 tons of fuel.
This shipment, valued at $11 million, arrived in Albania at the beginning of November 2024.
According to exclusive import documents obtained by Hashtag.al, the importer is KESH, which does not hold a license for fuel import/export operations.
But the real surprise is the company that sold this batch of fuel.
The company, “EMAD Energy S.A.”, is registered in Switzerland and sourced the 20,000 tons of fuel from Algeria.
Curiously, “EMAD” is also the name of a well-known Iranian missile, which Iran once boasted could annihilate Israel. While the company’s owners remain undisclosed, a set of leaked documents and emails obtained by Hashtag.al indicates that this company previously supplied fuel to Albania from Algeria in 2021 in partnership with a Turkish group called ASB Group, which was officially sanctioned by the U.S. last year. (Read more here)
Iranian Leaks Expose Fuel Smuggling Network
Emails obtained from Iran-Leaks suggest that in 2021, the administrator of EMAD Group SA communicated with an ASB Group manager in Turkey regarding a shipment of 3,400 tons of fuel to Albania. The price was set by Sonatrach, which is none other than Algeria’s state-owned oil company.
Algeria is one of Iran’s closest allies, and both countries have strengthened their cooperation in the energy sector.
However, further examination of the Iran-Leaks documents reveals deeper Turkish ASB Group ties in Albania.
In 2020, the sanctioned Turkish ASB Group conducted an operation selling Iranian oil worth $36 million, using Albania as a base.
A Turkish-owned company registered in Albania, MAC General Trading shpk, played a role in this scheme. (See company extract)
Data from Iran-Leaks reveals that a representative of MAC General Trading, Murat Halli, exchanged emails with ASB Group’s Turkey-based representative, Kazim Oztaz, discussing the $36 million fuel trade via Albania.
Kazim Oztaz was later convicted by a U.S. court in 2023 for violating oil embargo sanctions and was officially sanctioned. (Read the ruling)
Further emails from Iran-Leaks expose that MAC General Trading shpk’s tax invoice (See invoice) was processed with an ASB Group subsidiary, but a confidential contract obtained in the email leaks suggests that the Albanian company actually purchased the fuel directly from Iran through a direct deal with the Iranian company “Madolia Group”. (Read the confidential contract)
This indicates that Albania was used as a base for Iranian oil smuggling operations in 2020, bypassing international sanctions and embargoes.
Why Did Albania Enter This Iranian Scheme?
To fully grasp what has happened, one must understand the motive behind Albania’s involvement in this affair.
The reason is not Iran itself, but rather the close relationship between Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, as well as the incompetence of Rama’s Energy Minister, Belinda Balluku, in avoiding—or at least better concealing—these operations.
The sanctioned Turkish ASB Group is owned by Sitki Ayan, a businessman who is a key figure in a joint venture with Iran’s military guard through at least 12 companies.
Sitki Ayan is not just a Turkish businessman dealing with Iranians—he is a close confidant of Erdoğan and a member of his inner circle of trusted allies.
The access that compromised Turkish companies have had to Albanian government entities like KESH, or their ability to use Albania as a base for sanction-breaking operations, stems from Rama’s close relationship with Erdoğan.
Recently, a former Pentagon official, Michael Rubin, claimed in an analysis (Read here) that former U.S. Ambassador Yuri Kim deliberately tolerated this relationship between Rama and Erdoğan because of her publicly stated ambition to become the next U.S. Ambassador to Turkey. / Hashtag.al
