Rosneft spokesman Mikhail Leontyev said on Thursday, November 6, to the Govorit Moskva radio station that the company is not going to comment on a report by The Wall Street Journal that American prosecutors have launched an investigation into businessman Gennady Timchenko on suspicion of money laundering. money during transactions between Rosneft and the trading company Gunvor Group. At the same time, as a private person, Leontyev called the suspicions of the American prosecutor’s office surreal nonsense.

“Timchenko, as far as I know, was an oil trader. He is accused of trading oil, buying it from someone and transferring it to third parties, and mind you, most likely at a different price. What is this anyway? Let's try him for profiteering, only then by an honest Soviet court. Since when did the Soviet court move to the territory of the United States? This is just surreal nonsense,” he believes.

Earlier, The Wall Street Journal , citing sources, reported that the US prosecutor's office began checking the financial transactions of oil trader Gunvor for possible money laundering by Russian businessman Gennady Timchenko, who in March 2014 came under Western sanctions as a member of the inner circle of Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to the publication, US prosecutors are currently studying transactions involving the purchase of oil by Gunvor from Rosneft for subsequent resale. In addition, the publication did not rule out that the prosecutor’s office could initiate a criminal case against Timchenko and demand that Interpol put him on the wanted list.

Later, the Volga Group, which manages the businessman’s assets, reported that the American prosecutor’s office did not inform the Russian billionaire about the investigation. The company also emphasized that all of Timchenko’s business activities “always followed strict compliance with the law.”

A Gunvor representative also said that the company was not notified of the investigation against it. “The company found itself in a political skirmish,” a company representative summed up .

Rosneft called the investigation against Timchenko “surreal nonsense”