Igor Sechin, the boss of Russia’s state oil corporate and longtime affiliate of Vladimir Putin, celebrated New Yr’s Eve on a yacht anchored off Palm Jumeirah, the man-made Dubai island dotted with oligarch-friendly beachfront villas. Sechin spent maximum of 2022 grappling with the affect of the invasion of Ukraine on Russia’s oil exports and discovering new shoppers within the wake of sanctions. His maximum vital visitor that evening was once one of the vital males who helped him do it: oil dealer Murtaza Lakhani, in line with 4 other folks with direct wisdom of the subject.