russia secretly funded a gas project in Alaska

This is reported by the Financial Times, to which the company’s former chief executive, Joel Riddle, spoke of concerns regarding a possible breach of US sanctions.

Polar Train LNG is developing a gas export terminal in northern Alaska. The project was launched in March with a plan to utilise Novatek’s partially constructed terminal, relocating it to Alaska. The company has applied to the US Treasury Department for permission to negotiate with the russian group, but has not yet received it.

According to Riddle, he discovered that Novatek was already funding the project and managing its operations pending the necessary approvals. He resigned in September, after which the company’s chief financial officer, Dan Chandra, and other executives also left.

“I stepped down as CEO of Polar LNG because I was concerned that the russian company Novatek was funding the company and ultimately controlling its strategic direction,” said Riddle.

Initially, he believed that the funds were being provided by investor Gentry Beach, who has links to Donald Trump’s family, and the Abu Dhabi-based company Tech Wave. Subsequently, he said, it emerged that Beach had not invested in the project and was neither a shareholder nor a director.

The FT also reviewed WhatsApp messages in which Novatek board member Denis Solovyov discussed the project’s financing and attempted to expedite the transfer of funds to Polar Train LNG.

Polar LNG stated that Riddle had been dismissed, describing him as a “disgruntled employee” and emphasising that it was developing the project in compliance with US law.

Novatek said it had agreed to grant Tech Wave the right to use its technology in Alaska and signed a memorandum of understanding with Polar Train in April, when Riddle was at the helm of the company.

According to sources speaking to the FT, the project featured in talks between Washington and Moscow regarding business agreements that could help bring russia’s war against Ukraine to an end. Discussions centred on exchanging Novatek’s expertise for the construction of a terminal in Alaska in return for the lifting of sanctions on russia’s “Arctic LNG-2”.

Source: Financial Times, Ekonomichna Pravda