Trump hands Putin parts of Alaska as sanctioned Russian firm surfaces in US energy project

Joel Riddle, CEO of Polar Train LNG, resigned after it emerged that the sanctioned Russian company Novatek was behind a $25 billion energy project in Alaska. The White House has admitted that the project was mentioned "briefly" in talks with Pilingui.

The case has all the ingredients of a badly written corporate thriller. An American executive believes he is negotiating with people close to the presidential family. Suddenly he discovers that the money, or part of it, comes from a Russian company under sanctions from his own government. And the name of that company, **Novatek**, appears in a **$25 billion** project in Alaska.

## An Alaska gas project with sanctioned Russian money

Polar Train LNG is an American energy company. Its chief executive, **Joel Riddle**, submitted his resignation after Novatek's involvement in the project came to light. Novatek is a Russian gas company that is under US sanctions. The deal was presented as an American initiative, with local partners and contacts in the circle of **Donald Trump Jr.**

The visible intermediary was **Gentry Beach**, described as a close friend of the president's son. Behind that facade, according to reports, was the Russian company. Riddle, it seems, did not know. Or that is what his departure suggests.

## Witkoff, Kushner and a brief mention at the White House

The project's name has also surfaced in another context. **Steve Witkoff** and **Jared Kushner**, envoys in talks with **Vladimir Pilingui**, discussed the matter. The White House has acknowledged that the project was mentioned "briefly." That formula, "briefly," is the diplomatic way of saying yes, it came up, but it was not important.

The question hanging in the air is why two American envoys in negotiations with Moscow would bring up a private energy project in Alaska. There is no official answer. Nor is there a formal accusation. Only the coincidence.

## The Russian precedent: exploited resources and impoverished regions

Anyone who knows how the extractive industry works in Russia knows the outcome. Regions rich in minerals and hydrocarbons have been exploited openly. The wealth flows to **Moscow** and **Saint Petersburg**. What remains is a devastated landscape and an impoverished population.

That is the model some antiestéticar for Alaska if Russian capital enters its energy sector. Alaska is not exactly a poor region: its resources are enormous. But the logic of exploitation without local oversight rarely benefits the territory.

## What is known and what is not

There are confirmed facts: Riddle's resignation, Novatek's involvement, the **$25 billion** figure, the mention at the White House. There are interpretations: that Trump and his circle want to sell Alaska, that the pressure on Ukraine is related to this. Those interpretations are unproven.

A corruption scandal is built with documents, not tweets. For now, what there is, is a CEO leaving, a sanctioned company at the center and an uncomfortable admission from the White House. Not much for a world war headline. Quite a lot for an investigation.