Executives resigned from a natural gas project in Alaska due to concerns about hidden Russian financing.
Posted by Deadline: White House, Checked
- Sources
- 2 contradict4 support1 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 80%
Deadline: White HouseOct 28, 2026
Multiple reliable outlets (NYT, WSJ, and FT reporting carried by others) report that senior Polar LNG executives, including CEO Joel Riddle, resigned in September and that Riddle's stated reason was concern about Novatek's hidden financing and control.
What was said
… That is on top of conversations in recent weeks in which, as The New York Times writes, quote, Trump's envoys and Putin have discussed the sale of part of Russian oil giant to a well-connected investor group, as well as an effort to produce natural gas in Alaska, from which several executives resigned amid concerns about hidden Russian financing, and a proposal to increase Russian gas exports to Europe that has stunned European governments. And that's all to say nothing of the bizarre friendship between Donald Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr., and a Kremlin-linked businessman who reportedly funded a …
Deadline: White House · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. The New York Times reports that Joel Riddle, CEO of Polar LNG, resigned in September after learning that Novatek, a Russian energy giant under partial U.S. sanctions, was secretly funding the project.[1]
Supports. The Wall Street Journal reports that a team of U.S. business leaders resigned from the Alaska LNG startup, claiming it was covertly financed by Novatek.[2]
Supports. The Financial Times, as reported by Yahoo News, quotes Riddle saying he resigned because he was uncomfortable that Novatek was financing and ultimately controlling the company, and reports that CFO Dan Chandra and other executives also left.[3][4]
Contradicts. Polar LNG denies the allegations, says its operations comply with U.S. law, and called Riddle a 'disgruntled former employee' who was fired for cause; this disputes his account but does not show that the resignations were for another reason.[5][6]
Context. No U.S. authority has publicly established the alleged Russian financing, so the claim rests on the former executive's account and reporting of it rather than an official finding.[7]
Sources
7 sources: 2 tier 2, 4 not rated, 1 tier 3
- 1In U.S. gas talks with Kremlin, hidden financing for Alaska project emergesnytimes.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 2U.S. Energy Execs Say They Quit Startup Over Undisclosed Russian Fundingwsj.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 3Former CEO: Russian Firm Backed Alaska Gas Ventureyahoo.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 4Russia secretly financed Alaska gas projectfinance.yahoo.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 5Whistleblower CEO quits over hidden Russian cash behind gas ...rawstory.com · tier 3 · cited for: contradicts
- 6Former CEO alleges Russian company financed Alaska project ...adn.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts
- 7Top executives quit $25 bn US gas project over alleged Russian ...business-standard.com · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
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