Swiss Company Steps Away from Lukoil’s International Assets

Swiss energy trader Gunvor Group has backed out of a planned purchase of Lukoil’s international assets after the United States threatened sanctions and branded the firm a “Kremlin puppet.”

The Gaze reports this, referring to the company’s statement on social media.

Gunvor confirmed it had withdrawn its offer following remarks from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, which made it clear the transaction would not receive approval under new restrictions targeting Russian oil.

“President Donald Trump has been clear that the war must end immediately. As long as Russian President Vladimir Putin continues the senseless killings, the Kremlin’s puppet, Gunvor, will never get a license to operate and profit,” the U.S. Treasury said in a statement.

Gunvor dismissed the accusations as “fundamentally false” but acknowledged that the deal had been shelved.

The decision comes just days after Bloomberg reported that U.S. regulators were investigating Gunvor for possible links to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. 

The proposed acquisition reportedly covered oil refineries in Europe, shares in oil fields across Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Iraq, and Mexico, as well as hundreds of retail fuel stations worldwide.

The withdrawal comes against the backdrop of a sweeping new sanctions regime the United States announced in October 2025, targeting Lukoil and Rosneft, two of Russia’s largest oil companies, in an effort to choke off Kremlin revenue streams that fund its war in Ukraine. 

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the sanctions were necessary “given President Vladimir Putin’s refusal to end this senseless war.”  The measures include asset freezes, bans on U.S. persons dealing with designated entities and their subsidiaries, and secondary-sanctions risk for foreign counterparties. 

The move has already shaken key oil markets and buyers. Indian refiners, among the largest purchasers of Russian crude, are reportedly reviewing or reducing Russian oil contracts in response to the escalating risk. 

For Lukoil, the sanctions mean mounting pressure abroad: the company recently announced plans to sell its international assets, citing the Western sanctions environment.  

From Gunvor’s side, the U.S. warning was a de-facto rejection of the deal: without a U.S. license, the acquisition could not proceed.

The collapse of the Gunvor-Lukoil deal highlights the growing pressure on Western energy traders to cut remaining ties with Russia’s oil industry amid escalating sanctions and scrutiny from the U.S.

As The Gaze reported earlier, Turkey’s largest oil refineries are also scaling back purchases of Russian crude and turning to alternative suppliers, as new Western sanctions targeting Moscow’s energy exports begin to reshape global oil flows.