People linked to US President Donald Trump are leading negotiations on a $200 million gas pipeline deal in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is to be connected to Europe, the British newspaper "The Guardian" reports today.
As the newspaper reports on its website, Jesse Binal and Joe Flynn, two leading members of Trump's campaign to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, are seeking to win a major European gas pipeline contract, as the latest figures in the US president's circle to mix business and geopolitics.
Jesse Binal, a lawyer who worked on legal actions in support of Trump's unfounded claim that the election was stolen, and Joe Flynn, who also tried to undermine Joe Biden's victory in that election, were in Bosnia this week to discuss the pipeline project, the Guardian reports.
The Southern Gas Interconnection is intended to reduce the Balkans' dependence on Russian gas, and the construction of the pipeline is expected to cost around $200 million.
Binal told The Guardian that the company he and Flynn represent, AAFS Infrastructure and Energy, has not yet been awarded the $200 million contract.
Meetings with Bosnian ministers are exploratory as they assess the potential project, he said.
"The Southern Interconnection is an important project with the potential to strengthen Bosnia and Herzegovina's energy security and reduce regional dependence on Russian gas, and AAFS is excited about the opportunity to explore how American private capital and expertise can contribute," said Binal.
While much of the rest of Europe stopped using Russian gas after the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Bosnia and Herzegovina imports almost all of its supplies from Vladimir Putin's regime, writes The Guardian.
The Southern Gas Interconnection, about 180 kilometers long, would connect BiH to a liquefied natural gas terminal on Croatia's Adriatic coast and would enable BiH to import energy from the US and elsewhere, reducing Moscow's influence, writes The Guardian.
As the newspaper reminds, when Trump took office last year, the authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina agreed that American companies would build and operate the gas pipeline.
AAFS Infrastructure and Energy has no visible history in the industry. Corporate records show the company was formed two months ago in Wyoming, a US state. The website does not list the names of its employees, but it says they have decades of combined experience in the energy, infrastructure, finance and international project development sectors, the Guardian reports.
Flynn and Binal were in Sarajevo this week and met with Bosnian leaders to discuss "how American capital and resources can develop and operate the Southern Interconnection pipeline," the US embassy said in a statement on X.
Asked whether his and Flynn's ties to Trump create a conflict of interest, Binal said the embassy's support is consistent with its mission to support American companies operating abroad.
"AAFS is a private company that seeks opportunities through standard diplomatic commercial channels," Binal said.
The Bosnian Ministry of Foreign Affairs wrote on social media that the minister's meeting with Binal and Flynn "reaffirmed the joint commitment to deepening cooperation, encouraging investment and accelerating the implementation of these vital infrastructure projects," the newspaper reports.
The Guardian reports that Flynn's brother, Michael Flynn, served as Trump's national security adviser during his first term. Michael Flynn was convicted in 2017 of lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) about his ties to Russia, and was pardoned by Trump in 2020.
The brothers now, as the Guardian writes, appear to be on opposing sides of American efforts against Russia for influence in the Balkans.
While Joe Flynn is trying to secure a pipeline deal to reduce demand for Russian energy, Michael Flynn has recently begun to advocate for Milorad Dodik, the militant leader of Republika Srpska, who is one of Vladimir Putin's most vocal allies in Europe, the newspaper reports.
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