The foreign assets of the Russian oil giant Lukoil, which is under US sanctions, will be transferred to Gunvor – a company co-founded in the past by Vladimir Putin's close associate Gennady Timchenko, Meduza and world media report, writes UNN.
Details
According to journalists, Gunvor will gain control over some of Lukoil's assets outside Russia. This company belongs to the Swedish businessman Torbjörn Törnqvist, who created it together with Gennady Timchenko back in the 1990s.
In 2014, after sanctions were imposed against Timchenko due to the annexation of Crimea, he officially sold his stake in the business. However, according to Novaya Gazeta Europe, Törnqvist maintained informal ties with Russia and its energy sector.
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Despite the fact that in 2022 Gunvor publicly condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine and, as The Wall Street Journal wrote, "quickly curtailed" operations in the Russian Federation, the company will now acquire Lukoil's foreign assets.
Thus, the deal will likely allow control over some of Russia's energy resources to be maintained through intermediary structures that are formally not subject to sanctions.
Experts note that this could be an attempt by Moscow to circumvent international sanctions by transferring assets to companies that have Western jurisdiction but are historically linked to Russian capital.