Robert Amsterdam

In just five years, a shadowy Geneva-based firm by the name of Gunvor has become the third largest oil trader in the world, projecting revenues of $70 billion this year. The Financial Times has a very interesting piece which takes a look at how such a small company was able to achieve this improbable level of growth, and even links some of the main shareholders back to corruption scandals and questionable deals in the past. Gunvor, controlled by Gennady Timchenko, a close friend and judo partner of Vladimir Putin, was one of the principal beneficiaries of the unlawful breakup of Yukos. It is a must read.