The oil tanker detained on January 7 by the U.S. Coast Guard has ties to Ilan Șor, a fugitive Moldovan oligarch, and Viktor Baranski, a former Ukrainian deputy, according to an investigation by RFE/RL.

The tanker, which initially sailed under the Guyanese flag, was caught in the North Atlantic after attempting to reach Venezuela, circumventing the blockade imposed by the USA. The investigation shows that the tanker was renamed and received a Russian flag during the pursuit, and the ownership was changed to a Russian company linked to Ilan Shor. He, considered an instrument of the Kremlin in Moldova, fled to Russia after being convicted of fraud.

Viktor Baranski, associated with sanctioned structures, has ties to the Kremlin and was stripped of his Ukrainian citizenship after Russia's invasion. Both figures are involved in schemes to circumvent Western sanctions, including through cryptocurrency.