Etonian named as middleman for Russia’s ‘ghost fleet’

An Eton-educated accountant has been identified as a key player in Russia's early efforts to buy "ghost tankers" to ship oil in defiance of sanctions. An FT investigation names John Ormerod, 74, in connection with the purchase of at least 25 tankers for more than $700 million to ship oil conservatively valued at $7.2 billion, much of which will have gone to fund Russia's war on Ukraine. Ormerod claims to have done extensive due diligence and bought the ships for "general trade". The investigation says ship-tracking data shows they started being used to transport oil almost immediately after being acquired for Lukoil, the Russian energy giant, through shell companies incorporated in the Marshall Islands. An expert at Harvard says Russian companies have spent more than $10 billion on ghost ships since 2022.