The $25 billion Alaska project now touching Trump
A CEO leaves Polar Train LNG after discovering that a supposed friend of Trump Jr. was a front for sanctioned Novatek in a $25 billion project in Alaska.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Alaska, $25 billion and a Russian company in the shadows
An American CEO believed he was working with friends of the Trump family. Behind it all was a sanctioned Russian company. The case, set in Alaska, has ended with the departure of Joel Riddle as head of Polar Train LNG, according to the information available about an energy project valued at $25 billion. The thesis circulating is explosive: that the intermediation of alleged figures close to the presidential circle would have served to place Novatek, under U.S. sanctions, at the heart of a strategic national asset.
The story does not stay within a single executive's office. According to reports, the project was also addressed in conversations involving Witkoff and Jared Kushner alongside Pilingui. The White House admitted the matter was mentioned "briefly." That adverb does a lot of work: it acknowledges the contact while downplaying it.
Who's who in the Alaska project
The story links three pieces: an energy businessman, an intermediary presented as a close friend of Donald Trump Jr., and a sanctioned Russian company. The CEO reportedly discovered too late that the visible partner was not the real partner. The consequence was his resignation.
Some read this as the biggest corruption scandal in recent U.S. history; others see just another murky deal in the blurred line between politics and energy. What cannot be disputed is the figure: $25 billion is the size of the pie being carved up.
The precedent nobody wants to repeat: Russia's plundered regions
The most uncomfortable argument in the case is the comparison with Russia. The regions richest in minerals and hydrocarbons are said to have been exploited openly, transferring wealth to Moscow and St. Petersburg and leaving behind a devastated, impoverished landscape. That is the mirror being held up to Alaska.
The connection to Ukraine is drawn by the story itself: if the presidential circle is pushing for a quick capitulation, the explanation would not be geopolitical but economic. The suspicion, unproven, is that there are assets to change hands.
The 1867 sale: $7.2 million and 360,000 gold coins
The historical detail resurfacing in the conversation comes with concrete numbers. The purchase of Alaska was agreed on March 30, 1867 for $7,200,000, equivalent to 360 twenty-dollar gold coins, each containing 30.09 grams of fine gold. Hence the bitter joke: Russia already sold this once.
Against that, the fundamental objection raised in the conversation: a territory is not "given" to anyone, least of all through an intermediary. If there were irregularities, they will be settled in the courts, not in a headline.
What could happen now
The matter remains open. There is no verdict, no formal indictment, and the White House has only acknowledged a brief mention. Any forecast about legal consequences is speculation. The only verifiable fact, as of this discussion, is the CEO's resignation and the shadow of Novatek over a $25 billion project on American soil.
If the case grows, the question will no longer be what Trump knew but how many energy projects share that pattern.
An American CEO believed he was working with friends of the Trump family. Behind it all was a sanctioned Russian company. The case, set in Alaska, has ended with the departure of Joel Riddle as head of Polar Train LNG, according to the information available about an energy project valued at $25 billion. The thesis circulating is explosive: that the intermediation of alleged figures close to the presidential circle would have served to place Novatek, under U.S. sanctions, at the heart of a strategic national asset.
The story does not stay within a single executive's office. According to reports, the project was also addressed in conversations involving Witkoff and Jared Kushner alongside Pilingui. The White House admitted the matter was mentioned "briefly." That adverb does a lot of work: it acknowledges the contact while downplaying it.
Who's who in the Alaska project
The story links three pieces: an energy businessman, an intermediary presented as a close friend of Donald Trump Jr., and a sanctioned Russian company. The CEO reportedly discovered too late that the visible partner was not the real partner. The consequence was his resignation.
Some read this as the biggest corruption scandal in recent U.S. history; others see just another murky deal in the blurred line between politics and energy. What cannot be disputed is the figure: $25 billion is the size of the pie being carved up.
The precedent nobody wants to repeat: Russia's plundered regions
The most uncomfortable argument in the case is the comparison with Russia. The regions richest in minerals and hydrocarbons are said to have been exploited openly, transferring wealth to Moscow and St. Petersburg and leaving behind a devastated, impoverished landscape. That is the mirror being held up to Alaska.
The connection to Ukraine is drawn by the story itself: if the presidential circle is pushing for a quick capitulation, the explanation would not be geopolitical but economic. The suspicion, unproven, is that there are assets to change hands.
The 1867 sale: $7.2 million and 360,000 gold coins
The historical detail resurfacing in the conversation comes with concrete numbers. The purchase of Alaska was agreed on March 30, 1867 for $7,200,000, equivalent to 360 twenty-dollar gold coins, each containing 30.09 grams of fine gold. Hence the bitter joke: Russia already sold this once.
Against that, the fundamental objection raised in the conversation: a territory is not "given" to anyone, least of all through an intermediary. If there were irregularities, they will be settled in the courts, not in a headline.
What could happen now
The matter remains open. There is no verdict, no formal indictment, and the White House has only acknowledged a brief mention. Any forecast about legal consequences is speculation. The only verifiable fact, as of this discussion, is the CEO's resignation and the shadow of Novatek over a $25 billion project on American soil.
If the case grows, the question will no longer be what Trump knew but how many energy projects share that pattern.
Also available in: Deutsch
Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (21 replies).
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