Recognizing and Preventing Fraud

Following several reports concerning the illegal use of our brand and imagery, Rusneftegaz is urging increased vigilance against fraud schemes perpetuated in the name of our organization. Although we have undertaken appropriate measures to have this malevolent content removed, it should be considered that we do not market our products publicly under any circumstances, with the majority of our business in the petroleum industry conducted exclusively via commodities exchanges. Therefore, all interested parties should take note that we do not have any listings on any websites or social media sites, and we do not employ any individual or company to act as an intermediary on our behalf. This is principally due to the fact that it is not necessary for oil companies to pay extortionate fees for the marketing of their goods, nor should prospective buyers be willing to be charged for such services. Not only would this cause a number of conflict-of-interest issues to arise, but it would also diminish the profit margins of all legitimate participants in a transaction. As a result, we will never surrender our rights as a supplier and producer to an agent, or enter into any trilateral sales contracts accordingly. In response to this update, our Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Aleksandr Filyurin, delivered this statement in response:

“We have recently noticed a large increase in the number of reports we have been receiving about fraud, and are naturally very concerned about this, especially considering some of them appear to use our name and logo. It is important that anyone who is serious about buying oil does plenty of research before doing anything naïve, especially considering the scammers control a lot of information about the buying process. Everyone, and I mean everyone, should be alert to the risk of fraud. For every one thousand brokers I see online, only one is legitimate. There are so many ‘joker brokers’ who either do not understand the process at all, or are just looking to make a quick dollar in a scam. I would urge anyone looking to buy oil to do so through a broker approved by one of the major commodities exchanges. It is so easy and so simple, yet so many choose to try and do it through the scammers voluntarily. I must insist that anyone reading this does their research before trying anything like this, otherwise you could lose a large amount of money.”

Whilst we always recommend that those keen to acquire such fuels use a broker recognized and regulated by the relevant authorities, any potential customers who opt to pursue over-the-counter transactions should be aware that the risk of exposure to malicious actors increases considerably. Thus, we implicitly warn all such individuals and entities that our corporation will never communicate solely via electronic means, and that no member of our executive leadership act as a signatory to any of our corporate documentation. Consequently, we advise all of those seeking to become involved in this trade to exercise considerable due diligence before communicating with unknown counterparties, and to utilize the advice published in this bulletin for their own benefit. Due to the serious nature of these crimes, we politely request that anyone with suspicions pertaining to material found on the internet report it to us as soon as possible via the [email protected] email address. Additional information relating to this subject is available for review on our website. We necessitate your cooperation and understanding regarding this important matter.