Varamar, White Whale, Nortrop: the Varvarenkos’ fleet delivering weapons to terrorists under the guise of legal trade

The arms trade is far from a new story — it’s a risky yet highly lucrative industry. One family profiting from it is the Varvarenko family, with roots in Odesa and Belgium. This investigation reveals how the so-called "Odesa Network" supplies weapons to conflict zones through its companies Varamar, White Whale, Nortrop, and others — and what is known about the key players behind this "family business."

The “Odesa Network”: how companies tied to the Varvarenko family — Varamar, White Whale, and Nortrop — fuel arms-related disorder.

The port of Odesa once served as the launchpad for the Varvarenko family’s shipping ventures… but over time, they shifted toward far more “profitable” arms-related operations.

Then it moved on to "particularly profitable directions" in arms trading. The head of the "Odesa Network" is Oleksandr Varvarenko. Interestingly, he trades arms quite legally, signing contracts for domestic, American, and European weapon supplies, not for Russia. Oleksandr does not deny this but emphasizes that he operates within the law. Nevertheless, he always denies any involvement of himself or his family in illegal arms trade or the "Odesa Network."

More about the "Odesa Network"

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In 2016, an international scandal broke out around arms trading, with the main characters being from Odesa. That’s why journalists named the gang of entrepreneurs this way. The information channel Skelet-info reported that the gang has been in operation since 1991. Over the decades, the cartel transformed into a large international organization with its own fleet and a large-scale logistics network.

In 2013, the "Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime" published an analytical material titled "The Odesa Network Mapping Facilitators of Russian and Ukrainian Arms Transfers."

The investigation discusses that firms associated with the "Odesa Network" are a key link for most arms supplies from Ukraine and Russia, as well as critical hubs in the network. The analytics also mention the Varvarenko family’s companies – Varamar, White Whale, Nortrop, Kaalbye Group, Phoenix Trans-Servis, etc. Ships managed by this group were seen delivering Russian arms to the Assad regime in Syria and Uganda. Journalists found these companies interact with state arms export agencies such as Rosoboronexport and Ukrspecexport. Key companies and figures in Odesa also maintain high-level political connections through key mediators like Boris Kogan, who is also a co-founder of the Kaalbye company. More on this below.

Odesa Network’s leaders collaborate with government-level officials in the governments of Russia and Ukraine, including Putin’s personal advisor and high-ranking representatives of the Russian military industry.

The "Odesa Network" is focused on a group of private Odesa companies that regularly transport large batches of weapons. Subsidiary shipping companies from the EU and Russia, such as Briese Schiffahrts (and its subsidiary BBC Chartering) and Balchart, play a special role in transporting particularly large and specialized cargo. The network is deeply interconnected. Personnel and equipment are often switched between different companies, and many network participants are family members, close friends, former classmates, etc.

Now let’s delve into the key players of the "Odesa Network" - the Varvarenko family.

Who is Oleksandr Varvarenko?

A Belgian businessman born in 1980. He specializes in maritime transport management and is a marine freight broker. He is married and has four children. He founded the shipping company Varamar, as well as a shipping exchange and the online platform SHIPNEXT.

Varamar: what is known about Oleksandr Varvarenko’s company

Varvarenko founded his shipping company in 2009. It has offices in cities like Vancouver, Hamburg, Genoa, Limassol, and Dubai. Incidentally, this company was among the first to start using virtual Bitcoin to pay for freight.

The company "Varamar" with a registered capital of only 60,500 hryvnias and beneficial endings in Belgium has been implicated in numerous scandals related to arms supplies. It is based in Odesa.

As of late 2020, LLC "Varamar" has a tax debt of 23,681 UAH.

This firm Varamar operated the ship Alaed, which in 2012 delivered weapons from Russia to Syria.

Let’s recall the background. As reported by the popular German publication Der Spiegel at the time, the ship Atlantic Cruiser, chartered by the Ukrainian company White Whale Shipping, took on a cargo allegedly consisting of weapons in the port of Djibouti, heading to the Syrian port of Tartus. Following this report, Varamar’s management began denying the information. Referring to Varvarenko’s account, the ship transported a safe project cargo for a construction project in Syria.

In a comment to the information agency "Interfax-Ukraine," the then director of the informational policy department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Oleh Voloshyn reported that the information about the detention of the German ship was being verified.

How Iraq rejected Ukrainian APCs and returned them to Odesa: and how Varvarenko is linked

Here’s another interesting point about armored vehicles from 2013 related to Varvarenko. Iraq refused to accept Ukrainian armored vehicles, and 42 BTR-4s were returned to Odesa.

Oleksandr Varvarenko, a representative of the shipping company, stated this. So, he is well acquainted with transporting such special cargo. At the time, Varvarenko mentioned that the company "Ukrspecexport," which contracted directly with the ship’s owner, owed about $700,000 for the shipment.

And here are those same APCs, sitting idle in the Odesa port…

Andriy Varvarenko: what is known about him

Andriy is also involved and heads another major company in Odesa, Nortrop. This company is responsible for arms transportation.

The authorized capital of LLC "Nortrop" is 250,200 UAH. Notably, the beneficiary of the company changed in the summer of 2020 from Andriy Varvarenko to Serhiy Poltoratskyi. They are equal owners.

The company is also involved in 6 legal cases, most of which are criminal.

What is known about the head of the Varvarenko family, Valentyn

The head of the Varvarenko family, Valentyn, is a significant figure in the transportation industry in the CIS. In the turbulent 90s, Valentyn worked in Belgium and Latvia before returning to head several large-scale transportation companies. The sons grew up abroad, where they now have significant connections. For example, Oleksandr Varvarenko’s career started with the firm OXL-Flamar in Belgium. As for the company Nortrop, one of its owners is the brand Noord Natie, where the head of this family served as CEO.

Valentyn previously partnered with his son Andriy to lead the company "Loadstar-Nortrop," which is now liquidated. Interestingly, the firm Nortrop is among the founders of the dissolved company.

Kaalbye Group – another important link in the "Odesa Network"

The Kaalbye Group plays a significant role in this "network" in arms export, responsible for supplying fuel, crews, ships. Political connections are significant here. For example, Igor Urbansky, a founder of the Kaalbye company, was a deputy minister of transportation in our country from 2006 to 2009, having extensive connections with security forces. The second founder, Boris Kogan, is directly linked to high-ranking officials in the Russian defence industry, including the Deputy Director of Rostec. We covered this above.

P.S.

Let’s pause and summarize.

- The "Odesa Network" is involved in transporting arms worth billions of dollars to conflict zones and beyond.

- The Varvarenko family oversees arms supplies to terrorists.