Gulfsands moves to clarify Assad regime links

London-listed oil company says it is complying with sanctions and has kept its relations with partial-owner, Assad's cousin Rami Makhlouf, at 'arms-length'

Oil company Gulfsands Petroleum Plc moved to clarify its links with Syria's Assad regime on Wednesday as it sought to defuse media speculation and pressure group criticism about its activities in the conflict-torn country.
In a statement Gulfsands said it was compliant with sanctions and had kept its relations with Assad's cousin Rami Makhlouf, who owns a 5.7 per cent stake in Gulfsands via his investment company Al Mashrek, at "arms-length".
London-listed Gulfsands said it had had "constructive commercial relationships" with interests linked to Makhlouf since it first entered Syria in 2000.
"All such relationships have been conducted on arms-length commercial terms, have been properly documented and have been disclosed as required by pertinent laws and regulations," Gulfsands said in a statement.
The European Union put Makhlouf and 12 other Syrian officials on its sanctions list on May 17 in response to a crackdown on pro-democracy protests against President Bashar al-Assad's authoritarian rule. Makhlouf owns Syria's largest mobile phone company, Syriatel, and several large construction and oil firms.
Other links detailed by Gulfsands include the rental of offices in Damascus from a Makhlouf-owned firm and the payment of around $1 million in fees and milestone payments to Ramak, another Makhlouf company, for providing advice on identifying and pursuing exploration opportunities in Syria.
Gulfsands said it had suspended all payments and voting rights pertaining to Makhlouf's stake in the company following the imposition of sanctions.
"Gulfsands is fully compliant with all applicable sanctions and is committed to continuing compliance with any sanctions that may apply from time to time," the company said.
The company said it released the statement in the light of recent sanctions against Syria and press speculation over its relationship with Makhlouf.
London-based campaign group Platform called last week for an investigation into Gulfsands' relationship with the Assad regime.
Shares in Gulfsands have more than halved since March on worries about its Syrian operations and the possibility that the EU could follow the United States by banning the import of Syrian oil products.
An EU diplomat said on Wednesday EU governments were likely to adopt such an embargo by the end of next week. .
The company's shares were down 3.3 per cent on the London stock market by mid-morning.