- Category
- Latest news
“Kremlin Puppet”—Gunvor to Drop Lukoil Deal After US Pressure
- Authors
![Photo of Vlad Litnarovych]( "Photo of Vlad Litnarovych")
Swiss oil trader Gunvor has withdrawn from a planned deal to buy the international assets of Russian energy giant Lukoil after the US Treasury branded the company a “Kremlin puppet” and warned Washington would not approve the transaction, as the company announced on November 7.
Gunvor announced the reversal just hours after the US Treasury publicly accused it of acting in Moscow’s interests and said it would block any attempt to profit from Russian-linked energy assets.
“President Trump has made it clear the war must end immediately. While Putin continues his senseless killings, the Kremlin puppet Gunvor will never receive a license to profit,” the Treasury said in a statement.
President Trump has been clear that the war must end immediately. As long as Putin continues the senseless killings, the Kremlin’s puppet, Gunvor, will never get a license to operate and profit.
— Treasury Department (@USTreasury) November 6, 2025
In response, the Geneva-based trader called the accusation “fundamentally misinformed and false” but confirmed it was withdrawing its offer to purchase Lukoil’s international holdings.
The Treasury Department statement about Gunvor is fundamentally misinformed and false. Gunvor is and has always been open and transparent about its ownership and business, and has for more than a decade actively distanced itself from Russia, stopped trading in line with…
— Gunvor Group (@Gunvor) November 6, 2025
The proposed sale, announced by Lukoil on October 30, covered a broad portfolio of overseas operations: refineries in Europe, stakes in oil fields across Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Iraq, and Mexico, and hundreds of retail gas stations worldwide.
Lukoil said at the time that “key terms of the deal had already been agreed,” describing Gunvor as the buyer for its non-Russian assets after US sanctions effectively froze the company out of international markets.
However, Bloomberg reported earlier this week that US authorities had launched a review of Gunvor’s background and possible connections to Russian leader Vladimir Putin—concerns that appear to have prompted Washington’s hardline stance.
-fd36b54fa18abff98457b731d3248eb3.jpg)
Founded in 2000 by Swedish businessman Torbjörn Törnqvist and Gennady Timchenko, a long-time associate of Putin, Gunvor quickly became one of the world’s largest independent oil traders.
Timchenko sold his stake in 2014 after being personally sanctioned by the United States, but Törnqvist has continued to face scrutiny over the company’s historical ties to Russia’s energy sector.
Gunvor has repeatedly denied any current Russian ownership or operational links, emphasizing that its headquarters and compliance operations are based in Switzerland and Singapore.
-ed051fb1853bcb98ed81f53fa31bd834.png)
The company said it “remains committed to fully respecting international sanctions regimes” and would continue to focus on legitimate energy trading activities outside Russia.
Lukoil, Russia’s largest private oil producer, was hit with sweeping US sanctions last month alongside state-run Rosneft. The measures targeted both companies’ foreign subsidiaries, effectively cutting them off from Western financing and forcing asset sales.
Earlier, reports emerged that Russia’s federal revenues from oil and gas collapsed again in October, dropping 27% year over year as sanctions tightened, global crude prices softened, and the ruble regained strength.
-29ed98e0f248ee005bb84bfbf7f30adf.jpg)
