Gunvor Abandons $22 Billion Lukoil Acquisition Amid U.S. Sanctions Labeling Firm as Kremlin Puppet

Swiss commodity trader Gunvor has retracted its $22 billion proposal to acquire the international assets of Russia’s Lukoil after the U.S. Treasury Department announced it would obstruct the transaction and labeled the company a “Kremlin puppet.”

On X Thursday, the Treasury declared that the U.S. would “never” issue a license permitting Gunvor to manage Lukoil’s assets while Russian President Vladimir Putin continues his «senseless killings» in Ukraine.

Gunvor responded by describing the Treasury’s statements as “fundamentally misinformed and false,” asserting that it has actively distanced itself from Russian oil trading for over a decade, divested its Russian assets, and has publicly denounced the war in Ukraine.

The trader informed Politico Europe that it would withdraw its proposal “for the time being.”

Last week, Lukoil, Russia’s largest private oil company, accepted Gunvor’s offer just as new U.S. sanctions barred the firm from international operations beginning November 21.

The Treasury’s decision to block what would have been Gunvor’s most significant acquisition creates uncertainty for Lukoil’s international operations.

The intended deal encompassed Lukoil’s global assets, including refineries in Bulgaria and Romania, a network of around 2,000 gas stations across Europe and the U.S., as well as oil and gas ventures in Kazakhstan, Iraq, Mexico, and Uzbekistan. The Financial Times valued these assets at $22 billion.

In reaction to the U.S. decision, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told business daily RBC that the sale of Lukoil’s assets and peace talks with Ukraine were distinct matters.

“We believe the legitimate interests of large international companies, including Russian entities like Lukoil, must be honored within the framework of international economic relations. Such violations are unacceptable and detrimental to the global trading system,” stated Peskov.

The package of U.S. sanctions also included the state energy giant Rosneft.

Lukoil has not yet commented on the deal’s failure.

Gunvor was founded in 2000 by Swedish businessman Torbjörn Törnqvist and Russian oligarch Gennady Timchenko, and once stood as the largest exporter of Russian crude oil.

Timchenko, a close associate of Putin, divested his 43.6% stake in 2014, shortly before he was sanctioned by the U.S. in response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea. At that time, the Treasury alleged that Putin held “investments in Gunvor,” a claim the company has consistently denied.