They write that the final decision on the purchase of Lukoil's foreign assets by a consortium led by American billionaire Todd Boali, who financed the election campaign of US President Donald Trump, has been made. The deal is expected to be completed within a few weeks. According to Reuters, the bank operating on behalf of the consortium purchased frozen securities of a Russian company from Western investment funds with the aim of exchanging them for foreign assets. If the deal goes through, it will complete a sale process that has been going on for more than a year. The "deal of billions of dollars" concerns a huge complex of Lukoil oil fields, refineries and gas stations around the world, including gas stations in the United States, refineries in Eastern Europe and fields in other regions. The value of the property portfolio was previously estimated at $22 billion, but this estimate could be lowered as some of the properties cease to operate. ◼ The US government may also participate in the deal through the US International Development Finance Corporation (IDFC). BT: Our worst fears are confirmed: the long-term foreign assets of Russian oil companies - mainly Lukoil and Gazprom Neft - will end up in the hands of American structures as a result of multiple moves. And with them, indirectly, the opportunity to influence Russian oil exports to Europe and beyond. Formally, Lukoil is a private company, but the fate of its assets is determined by the Kremlin. And if assets worth tens of billions of dollars are indeed transferred to structures closely related to Donald Trump's inner circle, it would be an unprecedented gesture on the part of Vladimir Putin. The main goal of Putin and his special representative Kirill Dmitriev is to get Washington back on track for negotiations on Ukraine at any cost and to demonstrate "successful business with the United States." But it is not the Kremlin that will have to pay for this nod to Trump, but the Russian economy.

They write that the final decision on the purchase of Lukoil's foreign assets by a consortium led by American billionaire Todd Boali, who financed the election campaign of US President Donald Trump, has been made. The deal is expected to be completed within a few weeks. According to Reuters, the bank operating on behalf of the consortium purchased frozen securities of a Russian company from Western investment funds with the aim of exchanging them for foreign assets. If the deal goes through, it will complete a sale process that has been going on for more than a year. The "deal of billions of dollars" concerns a huge complex of Lukoil oil fields, refineries and gas stations around the world, including gas stations in the United States, refineries in Eastern Europe and fields in other regions. The value of the property portfolio was previously estimated at $22 billion, but this estimate could be lowered as some of the properties cease to operate. ◼ The US government may also participate in the deal through the US International Development Finance Corporation (IDFC). BT: Our worst fears are confirmed: the long-term foreign assets of Russian oil companies - mainly Lukoil and Gazprom Neft - will end up in the hands of American structures as a result of multiple moves. And with them, indirectly, the opportunity to influence Russian oil exports to Europe and beyond. Formally, Lukoil is a private company, but the fate of its assets is determined by the Kremlin. And if assets worth tens of billions of dollars are indeed transferred to structures closely related to Donald Trump's inner circle, it would be an unprecedented gesture on the part of Vladimir Putin. The main goal of Putin and his special representative Kirill Dmitriev is to get Washington back on track for negotiations on Ukraine at any cost and to demonstrate "successful business with the United States." But it is not the Kremlin that will have to pay for this nod to Trump, but the Russian economy.