Swiss oil trader Gunvor has cancelled a deal to buy international assets of Russian company Lukoil, which is under US sanctions. This was announced by the company itself on the night of 7 November.
A few hours earlier, the US Treasury Department called Gunvor a “puppet of the Kremlin” and made it clear that Washington would not approve the deal.
“President Trump has made it clear that the war must stop immediately. As long as Putin continues his senseless killings, the Kremlin puppet Gunvor will never be granted a licence to profit,” it said.
The Swiss oil trader responded by calling the accusation” fundamentally flawed” but added that it was withdrawing its offer to buy Lukoil’s international assets.
A few days ago, Bloomberg agency, citing informed sources, wrote that the U.S. will check Gunvor regarding ties with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
Lukoil’s assets, which were planned to be sold to Gunvor, include oil refineries in Europe, shares in oil fields in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Iraq and Mexico, as well as hundreds of retail petrol stations around the world.
On 30 October, Lukoil announced that Gunvor would be the buyer of its international assets following US sanctions. “The key terms of the agreement were previously agreed by the parties,” Lukoil said in a statement.
Gunvor was founded in 2000 by Swedish businessman Torbjorn Tornqvist and Vladimir Putin’s friend Gennady Timchenko, who sold his stake in 2014. However, Tornqvist retained ties with Russia.