DGS Marine Group

"David Skinner, 47, who runs an insurance firm from the tax haven of Liechtenstein, apparently provided cover for two Iranian-owned tankers involved in transporting crude oil from Syria, according to insurance certificates seen by The Sunday Telegraph. The European Union put an embargo on all exports of Syrian oil last September, in a bid to starve President Assad's regime of valuable oil revenues, which account for up to a third of government income. The legislation not only bans EU-based shipping companies from transporting such oil, but also forbids EU-based insurance firms from providing cover. However, because Liechtenstein is not within the EU's jurisdiction, there was nothing to stop Mr Skinner's company, DGS Marine Group Ltd, issuing insurance certificates via a scheme it manages called the British European & Overseas Protection and Indemnity. Certificates bearing his firm's name and his signature were obtained by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), an independent body part-funded by the Swedish government that monitors companies and individuals suspected of sanctions-breaking and illicit trafficking. Mr Skinner, a former shipping lawyer who spent years in the British maritime insurance industry, has denied the allegations, suggesting that the certificates must have been forgeries." (Telegraph, "British businessman accused of insuring oil tankers 'involved in undermining sanctions against Syria'," 6/23/12)