Swiss police searched the offices of commodities trader Gunvor last month as part of a corruption investigation into persons unknown, the country’s attorney general’s office has said.
“This action is part of a criminal investigation opened against persons unknown for suspected bribery of foreign public officials,” the Office of the Attorney General said in a statement.
A Gunvor spokesperson said the company is not the target of the investigation and is co-operating with the authorities.
Swiss NGO Public Eye claimed the search was carried out in connection to a US$1bn loan Gunvor provided in 2024 to the government of Gabon.
The deal enabled a state-owned oil company to purchase the assets of oil producer Assala Energy. In return, Gunvor secured exclusive rights to market the crude from its oil blocks.
But according to a Public Eye’s investigation published today, a company called Vakana Invest claimed in 2025 to have helped Gunvor secure the deal and received payments from a Gunvor subsidiary.
In 2020, Gunvor stopped using third-party agents to strike deals with foreign governments.
The company investigated the claims by Vakan and found no evidence of wrongdoing, the spokesperson said.
“Gunvor initiated a thorough investigation into the claim and whether any payments occurred. The company did not identify any payment that it made to the third-party.”
The trader said during the investigation it discovered a separate US$2mn over-charging fraud perpetrated upon it by a former employee, a counterparty and maritime services provider.
It reported the findings to relevant authorities, filed a criminal complaint in the UAE, and fired the employee, the spokesperson said.
