Stephen Lynch, a businessman from Florida and one of the sponsors of Donald Trump’s campaign, has expressed interest in purchasing the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, in part to give Washington leverage in negotiations over Ukraine, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Lynch is reportedly eyeing the pipeline, which is expected to be auctioned off during bankruptcy proceedings in Switzerland, with a scheduled date of January 2025.
This is a unique opportunity for American and European control over energy supplies to Europe until the end of the fossil fuel era, Lynch said.
He believes the pipeline, valued at $11 billion, could be acquired “for pennies on the dollar.”
Lynch, who worked in Moscow for nearly 20 years, has previously bought Russian assets at a discount. In 2007, he participated in a staged auction to acquire assets from the defunct Russian oil company Yukos. This raised questions about his ties to the Russian government and potential collusion, WSJ reports.
In 2022, Lynch received a license from the US Treasury Department to complete a deal to buy the Swiss branch of Sberbank after the parent company was sanctioned by the United States.
