Gunvor Scraps Lukoil Deal After US Calls It Kremlin ‘Puppet’ (2)

Commodity trader Gunvor Group has withdrawn its offer for the international assets of sanctioned Russian oil producer Lukoil PJSC after the US Treasury Department called it “the Kremlin’s puppet” and said the oil and gas trader would never get a license.

Gunvor pushed back on the Treasury comment on social media, calling it “fundamentally misinformed and false.” The Geneva-based company said it would seek to correct a “clear misunderstanding” but that it would withdraw its bid for now.

The comment is a remarkable volte-face after a week in which Gunvor has been in talks with the US Office of Foreign ...