MADE IN MOSCOW

Secret Russian Funding Revealed in Trump-Putin Energy Scheme

An energy project discussed by Trump’s top negotiators has been hiding a very Russian connection.

A multibillion-dollar project to tap into natural gas in Alaska pursued by the Trump administration has been revealed to have secretly received funding from a sanctioned Russian company, according to a report.

Polar LNG, an American energy startup, is seeking to buy Russian technology to extract natural gas from Alaska’s North Slope and ship it to allies abroad, portraying the project as a decidedly American undertaking.

But Joel Riddle, who resigned as the company’s chief executive last month, told The New York Times that he was misled about the source of the company’s funding. He said he had been made to believe that the money came from a firm in the United Arab Emirates, when at least some of it actually came from Novatek, one of Russia’s biggest energy companies that is under partial U.S. sanctions.

“It’s not only unlawful, but it’s not in the U.S. interest to have Russian technology controlling the commercialization of Arctic gas in the North Slope,” Riddle told the Times.

Yet President Donald Trump’s special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner discussed the project with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin during negotiations last month for a deal to end his war on Ukraine, people familiar with the talks told the Times.

The U.S. sanctions on Novatek mean the Treasury Department would need to approve the use of its equipment in Alaska, and a sanctions bill passed by Congress named after late GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina specifically targets Novatek over the company’s ties to Putin. Trump waived the law’s sanctions last week.

Witkoff and Kushner’s willingness to entertain such a deal is a striking example of how Trump and his inner circle have mixed the business of ending a war with the business of making deals, rather than focusing solely on putting an end to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

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In the latest twist, Novatek told the Times on Friday that it was moving to acquire “minority shareholder” status in the Polar LNG project, potentially giving a sanctioned Russian energy giant a stake in U.S. gas production.

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But even a memo prepared for Polar LNG by outside law firm Baker Botts warned that perceived ties to Novatek could jeopardize licenses and other regulatory approvals, according to the Times. The memo also said federal officials had already expressed concern that one of Polar LNG’s investors had links to Novatek and might be acting on the Russian company’s behalf.

Ilya Zaslavskiy, a gas industry consultant who studies Russian sanctions and energy issues in Washington, slammed Polar LNG’s dealings with Novatek and argued that it should have no place in negotiations over ending the war.

“Any approach by Novatek to transfer technology should be seen as a Kremlin attempt to co-opt U.S. policymakers in order to undermine U.S. foreign policy toward Ukraine and our allies,” Zaslavskiy told the Times.

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The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Erkki ForsterNight News Reporter

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