North Sea oil executive Francesco Mazzagatti could soon be the subject of a worldwide asset freeze stemming from a London lawsuit alleging he siphoned funds from former business partners tied to an Iranian petrochemicals business, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.

Alliance Petrochemical Investment (API), a Singapore-based company with a stake in Iranian plastics resin producer Mehr Petrochemical Co. and co-owned by the Jahanpour family, alleges Mazzagatti and an associate diverted customer payments and profits and withdrew money directly from company accounts, according to the report. The company alleges nearly €144 million was stolen and is seeking a freezing order for €160 million. 

The dispute centers on Mazzagatti’s relationship with the Jahanpour family, which Bloomberg said began in 2014 after he moved to Dubai from Italy. Mazzagatti has portrayed his purchase of a stake in API largely as a favor to Arshiya Jahanpour.

The U.S. Treasury Department said in 2023 that Mehr was central to a “shadow banking network” used to help companies do business on behalf of Iran’s government. Shortly after sanctions were imposed, Bloomberg said, Mazzagatti transferred his stake in API to a friend in Dubai.

API alleges that a substantial share of the money diverted from Mehr was used to finance Viaro’s acquisition of RockRose Energy in Britain, the deal that helped launch the company’s expansion in the North Sea, Bloomberg reported.

The case is the latest setback for Mazzagatti, chief executive of Viaro Energy and the UK’s highest-paid oil executive, the news agency said. In January, Shell and Exxon Mobil abandoned a proposed sale of natural gas assets to Viaro after an 18-month UK government review, and in December an Abu Dhabi state oil company won a London court appeal tied to a failed joint venture, Bloomberg reported.

Read more at Bloomberg