Gunvor CEO Torbjorn Tornqvist paid himself $1 billion in dividends and paid Russian billionaire Gennady Timchenko for his stake in the company, which was sold in 2014. The debt to Timchenko has been completely repaid

Russian billionaire Gennady Timchenko (Photo: Stanislav Krasilnikov/TASS)

Gunvor CEO Torbjörn Tornqvist appointed himself a special dividend of $1 billion to pay off debt to the former co-owner of the oil trader, Russian billionaire Gennady Timchenko, reports the Financial Times. “The payment is final, and Törnqvist or the group have absolutely no obligations left [to Timchenko],” Gunvor said in response to the publication’s request.

Gunvor also added that the transaction was carried out in euros and in compliance with restrictions regarding persons under American sanctions .

A representative of the US Treasury refused to comment to FT about the repayment of Gunvor’s debt to Timchenko. Timchenko's representative told RBC that the deal to sell his stake in Gunvor was closed, the settlements were completed and no debt remained. He declined to comment on the details of the deal.

The dividend payment came after Gunvor reported net profit for 2015 of $1.25 billion, up 368% compared to 2014, FT notes.

The fact that Tornqvist partially used the $1 billion in dividends received to pay Timchenko was also reported on Tuesday by Bloomberg , citing an unnamed source. interlocutor Bloomberg's noted that part of the amount paid to the CEO was payment for the shares he sold. As the agency notes, citing a Gunvor statement received by email, Tornqvist, who after the deal with Timchenko had already reduced his stake to 78%, decided to increase it to 70%. As a result, the share of Gunvor employees will increase to 30% (more than 200 Gunvor employees own shares). In March 2014, after Timchenko's departure, Törnqvist told Bloomberg that he might begin looking for a new business partner to diversify the company's ownership structure.

In March 2014, after the annexation of Crimea to Russia, which was considered illegal in Washington, the US Treasury imposed sanctions against several Russian officials and businessmen, including Timchenko . Almost immediately after the US announcement of the imposition of sanctions, the press service of the billionaire and Gunvor reported that a day earlier he had withdrawn from the capital of the oil trader, selling a stake of 43.5% to the second largest shareholder of the business, Tornqvist . As a result of the transaction, the latter ended up with 87% of Gunvor shares.

The transaction amount was not disclosed. Bloomberg previously reported that based on known estimates of businesses similar to Gunvor, Timchenko's share could be worth $1.5 billion. FT notes that immediately after the transaction, the Russian billionaire did not receive the full amount for his shares. According to the newspaper, Tornqvist partially repaid the debt in 2014 and 2015.

A representative of the Volga Group, which manages Timchenko’s Russian assets, reported that the businessman would invest money from the sale of a stake in Gunvor in Russia. He noted that this decision was made due to the high risk of sanctions being imposed against Timchenko by foreign countries.

In Forbes' 2016 list of billionaires, Timchenko was ranked 85th in the world and fifth in Russia with a fortune estimated at $11.4 billion. The magazine estimated Törnqvist's fortune at $1.8 billion, placing him in 1011th place in the list. global list of billionaires (21st place in Sweden).

Gunvor paid $1 billion in dividends to sever ties with Timchenko