“Gunvor, Putin and Me” - Oil Trader Speaks Out[Thu May 22, 2008 2:24pm BST]
MOSCOW (Reuters) - The owner of Swiss-based oil trader Gunvor has denied Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's help was key to turning his firm into a global player in a open letter called "Gunvor, Putin and me: the truth about a Russian oil trader."
Gennady Timchenko's letter, published by the Financial Times on Thursday, became the first public statement by the mysterious tycoon who co-owns the world's third largest trading house.
Timchenko's was reacting to years of speculation that he enjoyed special ties with the former president and now prime minister Vladimir Putin.
"Media suggestions about the extent of any ties between me and Mr Putin are overblown," said Timchenko, who owned a few trading companies in and near
Timchenko's partner and Gunvor's co-founder, Torbjorn Torknqvist, has already denied Gunvor ever enjoyed Putin's support in his first ever interview given to Reuters in October.
Gunvor handles over a third of Russian crude exports, making it the world's second largest crude trading company. It also, handles a big chunk of oil products with the lion's share coming from state-controlled companies such as Rosneft and Gazprom Neft.
Timchenko said he never co-owned any company with Putin and denied the two men were especially close due to their love of judo.
“It is true that I, together with three other businessmen, sponsored a judo club where Mr Putin became honorary president.”
"That is as far as it goes - yet time and again, the media wrongly jump to the conclusion that the judo club connection means that Mr Putin and I are “close,” then leaps into conspiracy-theory mode," Timchenko said.
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