The company, which was founded in 2000, is the fourth largest crude oil trader in the world after Glencore, Vitol, and Trafigura.[4][5] The company was co-founded and controlled by Gennady Timchenko together with Torbjörn Törnqvist (after whose mother the company is named[6]); however, due to United States sanctions, Timchenko sold his stake in the company to Törnqvist in March 2014.[7][8]