The deal for the takeover of 51% of the shares of the oil company KMG International NV, the former Rompetrol Group, by the Chinese company CEFC China Energy Company Ltd. has failed, three sources told Reuters reporters on Tuesday.

In March of this year, the KazMunayGas Kazakh oil group officially informed that the completion of the deal by which the Chinese company CEFC China Energy Company Ltd. would take over 51% of the shares of the oil company KMG International NV was postponed for the end of June. “The transaction on the sale of a control package to KMG International has not yet been finalized because of overdue obligations that are scheduled to be completed by June 30, 2018,” the KazMunayGas group reported in March. “Both sides are still determined to close this deal in the near future,” added KazMunayGas.

However, on Tuesday, three sources near talks told Reuters that the deal failed. “There will be no more transaction,” a high-ranking Kazakh official told Reuters. Asked if a third party offered to take over the stake, the official said: “It’s a long process but there is interest in that,” according to Agerpres.

Also, two high-level Chinese sources also confirmed that the transaction with KazMunayGas has failed. One of these sources said the CEFC was to pay a $ 50 million guarantee to maintain the deal, but the Chinese company could not pay that amount before the end-June deadline.

In just a few years, CEFC has turned from a niche trader in the hometown of Ye Jianming (China’s Fujian Province, southeastern China) into a conglomerate with energy and finance activities. Currently, CEFC produces oil in West Africa and Abu Dhabi, holds hundreds of gas stations in Europe and an active bank in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Earlier this year, Reuters announced that CEFC President China Energy, Ye Jianming, is being investigated by the Chinese authorities for alleged economic crimes. Subsequently, in May, a major division of the Chinese group CEFC China Energy failed to repay maturing bonds worth 2.09 billion yuan ($ 327 million), which raised new questions with the future of the group.

KazMunayGaz International, owned by the KazMunayGas oil company in Kazakhstan, is present in 11 countries and owns the Petromidia Năvodari refineries (largest in Romania) and Vega Ploieşti (the oldest local refinery in operation), as well as distribution networks for fuels (Rompetrol) in Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, Georgia, France and Spain.

The transaction with KazMunayGas is the second failed deal of CEFC after that related to its participation in Russia’s oil group Rosneft, Russia’s largest oil producer. Last year, the consortium formed by QIA and Glencore decided to cede 14.16% of Rosneft shares it held to China CEFC China Energy for $ 9.1 billion. But the transaction was not completed as Chinese CEFC President Ye Jianming was investigated earlier this year by the Chinese authorities for alleged economic crimes.