Officials from oil distribution company Gulf Albania are under investigation for money laundering, media in Tirana reported on April 22.

The owner of the group is Alexandre Gogokhia, a Georgian citizen who is also wanted by the authorities in Tbilisi in connection with money laundering, broadcaster Top Channel reported.

According to its website, Gulf imports fuel from “the best oil refineries in Europe” to supply quality fuel to Albanian drivers. It is in the process of building over 70 petrol stations across the country. 

It is owned by an offshore company the Universal Energy Group registered in Delaware, the US, which also owns Sun Petroleum in Albania, Top Channel discovered, though says the ultimate owner is Gogokhia. 

The Albanian prosecutor’s office is now investigating the case. It is also searching for another citizen, Albano Aliko, a former manager of Gulf, who is suspected of being involved in a €5mn fraud scheme.

Gogokhia has a long history of controversy. He is linked to Davit Kezerashvili, Georgia’s youthful former defence minister, who was detained at Nice airport back in 2013 when trying to board a plane to Tirana, as he was wanted in multiple corruption charges, but later walked free.

In 2014, Gogokhia was involved in a scandal related to former mayor of Tbilisi Giorgi Ugulava, was who was charged with illegally accumulating money for the United National Movement (UNM). The authorities claimed Ugualva acted as the head of a criminal group, which included Gogokhia, the former director of Georgia’s Lottery Company. The group allegedly received large amounts of ‘black money’ obtained from offshore companies, which was used to finance the party’s campaign for the 2014 municipal elections, Agenda.ge reported at the time, citing officials from the Investigating Service of Georgia’s Finance Ministry.

The authorities claimed that money was transferred from off-shore business Eximus Holding registered in the Virgin Islands to another firm based on a fictitious contract. Eximus Holding was reportedly related to Kezerashvili and Gogokhia. Allegedly $1.5mn was going to be transferred, but only $760,000 had been relocated before the scheme was discovered. The money had been used by Ugulava for political purposes, the Investigating Service’s statement was quoted in the media.

Back in 2009 both Ugulava and Gogokhia were also charged in connection to the so-called “City Park” project, involving forgery and legalisation of illegal proceeds.