A Syrian shipping tycoon is controlling maritime and property businesses in Greece despite being sanctioned by the US for his alleged dealing with the Houthis and Hezbollah, The National can reveal.
Abdul Jalil Mallah is subject to an arrest warrant in the UK and has been listed as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the US Treasury since 2021 for his involvement with Hezbollah and the Houthis in deals it says were worth “millions of dollars". The 50-year-old has claimed he has distanced himself from his Greece-based business operations, which once operated dozens of vessels. However, visits to the headquarters as well as court documents suggest he is still in charge.
An investigation by the Greek journalism organisation iMEdD and The National reveals that Mr Mallah appears to operate the business in Greece despite being under sanctions. A network of companies and associates in Greece were exposed in court actions taken after the US sanctions announcement.
"Mr Mallah is not in the office. I am only here today to clean up,” a voice in broken Greek said when iMEdD pressed the buzzer at the doorstep of a first-floor office in a six-storey apartment building in Piraeus. The building, which has no visible security or guards, was mentioned in British court documents and is also the address for Mr Mallah's company registration. The Greek Land Registry lists five properties within the building as being owned by Mr Mallah.
While the cleaner said Mr Mallah had not "been at the office for a while", the man said he would pass on a message. From the office doorway, shelves filled with files and documents were visible inside.
In the entrance hallway, the name Mallah Ship Management is listed alongside each apartment, one of which is used as an office. On the notice board common expenses for all residents, including the man referred to locally as the "captain", for the year to January 2025 were displayed.
Mr Mallah's legal woes can be traced to July 2019 when he struck a deal with three subsidiaries of the US firm Oaktree Capital Management (OCM) to finance the acquisition of two cargo ships – the Amethyst and the Courage. Under the agreement, known as a bareboat charter and common in the shipping industry, the vessels were to be chartered by Mr Mallah’s companies for a specified period, with an option to purchase them at the end of the contract.
OCM sought to terminate the deal in June 2021 when Mr Mallah was placed under sanctions, and his assets and bank accounts were subject to a US freezing order. Subsequent lawsuits sought to wrest control from Mr Mallah.
The battle culminated when British court documents alleged that despite attempting to distance himself from his shipping businesses, Mr Mallah continued to control the assets through a proxy. During the proceedings the court heard he was placed under surveillance by OCM and was seen "on several occasions" at the office of one of his companies in Greece.
As far back as 2012 Mr Mallah registered the Mallah Ship Management Co Ltd with UK Companies House, and a month later the company applied for and received permission to set up an office in Greece. Its activities expanded and at one point he sold five ships in his fleet within a few months, for around $20 million.
The tussle for the OCM-chartered ships is only partially concluded. According to UK court documents, OCM succeeded in recovering the Amethyst but not the Courage, which remains in Latakia, Syria, where it has been since Mr Mallah was sued by OCM. Two lawyers based in Piraeus who had handled Mr Mallah’s legal battle with OCM said the shipping community had been shaken by the situation.
"At one point, he owned or controlled more than 50 ships. When he got caught up in US sanctions, it became a widely discussed issue in Piraeus, and at events with shipping industry professionals," the lawyers said.
According to the Equasis shipping database, a company based in Marousi, on the east side of Athens, is currently listed as the safety manager for the Courage. The same company was last year described in the British documents as being controlled by Mr Mallah.
The company’s legal representative in Marousi is the same person the British court had designated as Mr Mallah’s proxy. Contacted by iMEdD, he denied any connection to the company or the ship. However he said he would pass on a request for an interview to the Syrian ship owner. A few days later, an email message from Mr Mallah landed.
The shipping tycoon insisted he was the victim of a set-up. "I have nothing to do with Hezbollah and the Houthis," he told iMEdD. "This is a big lie against me to rob me."
Yemen connection
Last year the US Treasury also sanctioned four ships belonging to Mr Mallah's brother Luay Al Mallah. Announcing the sanctions the US described Abdul Jalil Mallah as an "illicit shipping magnate", while his brother has "continued to use their shipping empire to support Iran’s malign activities and those of its proxies".
The US authorities maintain Mr Mallah facilitated transactions worth millions of dollars to Swaid and Sons, a Yemeni exchange house associated with the Houthis. He has worked with Sa’id Al Jamal to send millions of dollars’ worth of Iranian crude oil to Hezbollah, the Americans allege.
Mr Al Jamal, a financial supporter of the Houthis based in Iran, directs a network of front companies and vessels that smuggle Iranian fuel, petroleum products and other commodities to customers throughout the Middle East, Africa and Asia. He has used Swaid and Sons to send millions of dollars to IRGC Quds Force officials deployed in Yemen, the US Treasury claims.
Courtroom twist
OCM had also sought £1 million ($1.2 million) in legal costs and in a subsequent court order in May 2024, Mr Mallah was given a prison sentence for fraud.
Mr Mallah's submissions included forged documents purporting to be from the Greek authorities showing he had left the country before the notice was served, which led to a hearing for contempt of court. The judge in the initial case, Andrew Smith, ruled that Mr Mallah’s side had provided no written or oral evidence proving he was no longer the true owner of the companies. The British court also determined that a lawyer was acting as Mr Mallah’s proxy.
High Court judge Sara Cockerill found he failed to respond to a request to declare his assets, and when he finally did, he claimed he had never received the summons at his Piraeus address because he had already left Greece.
Judge Cockerill said it was “inherently implausible” that the Greek authorities would provide personalised documents saying the Syrian had left the country and that inquiries via Interpol found these to be “counterfeit”. Mr Mallah also made “demonstrably false” claims that he was not the beneficial owner of properties in Sweden and Greece, she said. She ruled Mr Mallah “quite deliberately lied to the court” in the case and provided “multiple false statements” including forged documents.
She sentenced him to 18 months in jail for contempt of court after she said he appeared to show no remorse for his actions. In addition Mr Mallah had submitted five court judgments from Syrian and UAE courts, which he claimed proved that OCC owes him around €20 million ($21 million) in relation to the two ships.
"They are making false claims and statements based on deception in order to take over the company I was running," Mr Mallah said in an emailed response to the request. "Anything built on falsehood is a lie."
OCM declined to comment.
– Kostas Koukoumakas and George Schinas of iMEdD contributed to this report.
