Executives Quit Alaska Gas Project Over Claims of Hidden Russian Funding

Almost the entire management team of Polar Train LNG, a US$25 billion gas export project planned for northern Alaska, has departed amid allegations that Russia's Novatek secretly financed and controlled it, according to a report by the Financial Times.

The company's former chief executive, Joel Riddle, told the newspaper he raised concerns about possible breaches of US sanctions. Polar Train LNG is developing an export terminal in the Alaskan north. The project was launched in March and envisions taking a partially built Novatek terminal and relocating it to Alaska. The company asked the US Treasury Department for permission to negotiate with the Russian group, but approval has not yet been granted.

Riddle said he found that Novatek was already funding the venture and directing its operations before the required approvals were in place. He resigned in September, and chief financial officer Dan Chandra and other executives left afterward.

"I resigned as chief executive of Polar LNG because I felt uncomfortable that the Russian company Novatek was financing and ultimately controlling the strategic direction of the company," Riddle said.

He had originally understood that the money came from Gentry Beach, an investor with ties to Donald Trump's family, and from Tech Wave, a company based in Abu Dhabi. Riddle said he later learned that Beach had not invested in the project and was neither a shareholder nor an executive.

The Financial Times also reviewed WhatsApp messages in which Novatek board member Denis Solovyov discussed financing the project and pressed for a faster transfer of funds to Polar Train LNG.

Polar LNG rejected the allegations. It said Riddle had been dismissed, called him a "disgruntled employee" and insisted the project was being developed in line with US law. Novatek said it had agreed to let Tech Wave use its technology in Alaska and had signed a memorandum with Polar Train in April, when Riddle was still leading the company.

People who spoke to the newspaper said the project had come up in talks between Washington and Moscow on business deals that might help end Russia's war against Ukraine. The discussions reportedly included a possible swap in which Novatek would offer its expertise for building the Alaska terminal, and in return sanctions on Russia's Arctic LNG 2 project would be lifted.

The story has a longer backstory. In February 2026, Ekonomichna Pravda, citing The New York Times, reported that Gentry Beach, a university friend of Donald Trump Jr, had announced an agreement with Novatek on a gas project in Alaska. On 9 October, reports said Russia was seeking sanctions relief as part of negotiations over a possible "energy ceasefire" with Ukraine.