Gunvor withdraws bid for Russia's Lukoil assets after US calls it 'Kremlin's puppet'
Swiss-based oil trader Gunvor announced on Nov. 6 that it was withdrawing from a deal to buy Russian energy giant Lukoil's foreign assets after the U.S. said it would never get a license.
Earlier the same day, the U.S. Treasury Department described Gunvor as "Kremlin's puppet," saying the company would "never get a license to operate and profit" while Russia continues its all-out war against Ukraine.
The comments came after Lukoil said last week it had agreed to sell its international business to the trading firm following U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of sanctions against Russia's oil giant.
Gunvor, which is registered in Cyprus and headquartered in Switzerland, was founded in 1997 by Gennady Timchenko, a close associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Swedish billionaire Torbjörn Törnqvist.
In 2014, Timchenko sold his 44% stake in Gunvor to Törnqvist, who now holds 88% in the company.
The company said it has since sought to distance itself from Russia.
While Gunvor dismissed Washington's accusation as "fundamentally misinformed and false," it said it was pulling its offer for Lukoil's international assets.
Lukoil has assets in the U.S., Latin America, former Soviet countries, the Middle East, and Africa, as well as in Romania.
"Gunvor is and has always been open and transparent about its ownership and business," the company said. "We welcome the opportunity to ensure this clear misunderstanding is corrected."
Timchenko, who is a citizen of Russia and Finland, has been under the U.S. sanctions since Russia's illegal annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula. In 2014, the U.S. Treasury said that his activities in the energy sector "have been directly linked to Putin."
Francis Farrell
