U.S. to Review Gunvor’s Lukoil Deal Over Possible Putin Links

U.S. authorities plan to review the proposed sale of Lukoil’s international assets to the Swiss commodity trader Gunvor, Orda.kz reports, citing Bloomberg.

The review aims to determine whether Gunvor maintains any undisclosed connections to Vladimir Putin. The deal was announced just a week after Washington imposed new sanctions on Lukoil and Rosneft.

Industry analysts noted the unusual speed of the transaction. According to Bloomberg, several major energy companies approached Lukoil after the sanctions but were turned away.

Lukoil International was valued at around $21 billion in 2023 — more than triple Gunvor’s own equity. The U.S. Treasury previously accused Gunvor of having links to Putin in 2014, though the company now portrays itself as maintaining “constructive relations” with the United States.

According to Novaya Gazeta Europe, the Törnqvist family, who control Gunvor, own a property on Moscow’s Rublyovka and frequently travel to Russia. Among their neighbors are General Sergey Surovikin and executives from Gazprom and Surgutneftegaz.

Gunvor was founded in the late 1990s by Gennady Timchenko and Torbjörn Törnqvist, with Timchenko selling his stake after the 2014 Crimea sanctions.