News
Switzerland’s Gunvor Group, founded by Russian oligarch Gennady Timchenko and his Swedish partner Torbjörn Törnqvist, has submitted an offer to Lukoil to acquire LUKOIL International GmbH, the company through which the Russian oil giant manages its foreign assets. The deal is being prepared against the backdrop of U.S. sanctions announced against Lukoil on Oct. 22. The Russian company has accepted the offer and pledged not to hold talks with other potential buyers, its press service said.
The finalization of the agreement depends on approval from the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and, if necessary, from regulators in other countries. Gunvor is registered in Cyprus but is effectively based in Geneva. It is among the world’s largest oil traders. Until such time as the deal is completed, the parties plan to extend the existing U.S. license to ensure the uninterrupted operation of the international assets currently belonging to LUKOIL, along with their access to banking services.
The decision to sell follows sanctions imposed by the United States and the United Kingdom on Lukoil and its subsidiaries. On Oct. 27, the company announced plans to divest its foreign assets and has now named a buyer for the first time. LUKOIL International GmbH is an Austria-based holding through which the corporation manages dozens of subsidiaries across Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Gunvor Group was founded in 2000 by Russian oligarch Gennady Timchenko and Swedish trader Torbjörn Törnqvist. In 2014, Timchenko sold his stake to Törnqvist shortly before U.S. sanctions connected with the annexation of Crimea went into effect. At the time, the U.S. Treasury claimed that Vladimir Putin, through Timchenko, “may have investments in Gunvor and access to its funds.” Following that sale, the company announced that it had stopped trading Russian oil (except for small volumes permitted under the sanctions).
Timchenko remains one of Russia’s wealthiest businessmen and a member of Vladimir Putin’s inner circle. His investment company, Volga Group, holds stakes in Russia's second-largest natural gas producer Novatek and petrochemicals giant Sibur. Timchenko is under sanctions from the United States, the EU, and the UK, and his companies have been mentioned in investigations into oil deliveries and the financing of Russian projects abroad. According to an investigation by the Dossier Center, entities linked to Timchenko continue to operate through front partners — among them Ivan Yegorov, who, according to journalists, has taken part in transactions on Gunvor’s behalf in an effort to bypass Western sanctions.