Gunvor Group Ltd., an international oil trading company registered in Cyprus. He announced his withdrawal from the plan to acquire assets of Lukoil, Russia's largest private oil and gas corporation, abroad. The statement was published on November 6 on the company's official X (formerly Twitter) page.
Gunwor's decision was announced about an hour after the US Treasury Department issued a harsh statement against the organization. According to US officials, the company still has connections with Russia, and it will not be licensed to operate until the end of the war in Ukraine.
Washington's official statement said:
"President Trump openly stated the need for an immediate end to the war. As long as Russia continues its aggression, Gunvor, the Kremlin's economic puppet, will never have a license to operate or profit."
In doing so, the US Treasury Department accused Gunvor of connections with Russia. However, company representatives called these accusations "baseless and false."
"Gunwar has always provided open information about his owners and activities. We have severed ties with Russia for more than ten years, sold our assets there, and openly condemn the war in Ukraine. "We will work in full compliance with the requirements of the sanctions," the company said in a statement.
At the same time, Gunvor officially withdrew Lukoil's offer to acquire foreign assets.
As a reminder, Lukoil is one of Russia's largest private companies under US and UK sanctions. He announced an agreement with Gunwor on the sale of the foreign business on October 30. Within the framework of this agreement, the Russian side also assumed the obligation not to negotiate with other buyers.
However, this agreement caused doubts on an international scale. Many experts assessed this action as an attempt to circumvent the restrictions imposed on Russian companies.
The history of Gunwor is also noteworthy: the company was founded in 2000 by Russian businessman Gennady Timchenko and Swedish businessman Torbyorn Tyornkvist. In 2014, before international sanctions for the annexation of Crimea came into force, Timchenko sold his stake to a partner and left the company. After that, Gunvor announced that he had sold all his assets in Russia.
In recent weeks, the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has imposed additional sanctions for "Russia's lack of interest in a peaceful end to the war in Ukraine." They covered not only Lukoil and Rosneft, but also more than 30 subsidiaries belonging to them.
The UK also joined this initiative, imposing freezing of assets, restrictions on trust services, and restrictions on transport operations against Lukoil and Rosneft. London emphasizes that these companies are the main pillars of the strategically important energy sector for the Russian government.
Thus, against the backdrop of international pressure, a potential agreement between Gunwor and Lukoil failed. This situation further exacerbated Russia's limitations in the global economic system and demonstrated the continued effectiveness of the sanctions policy.
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