/ world today news/ Bloomberg Agency calculated how much Gazprombank and Novatek pay lobbyists in Washington.
In the second half of 2014 and the first quarter of this year, the two Russian companies paid a total of 1.19 million dollars. The agency drew the bills from the accounts of Squire Patton Boggs, a Washington lobbying firm run by former Senate Majority Leader Trent Toth and former Louisiana state Sen. John Breaux. Lott’s company received from Russia twice his annual income as a senator. “Gazprombank” hired Squire Patton Boggs in the summer of 2014″. For nine months of work, Squire Patton Boggs received $450,000 from the Russian bank.
Novatek, co-owned by billionaire Gennady Timchenko, cooperates with lobbyist Publicis Groupe SA’s Qorvis/MSLGROUP. According to Bloomberg data, in the second half of 2014, Novatek paid the company about $560,000, and in the first quarter of 2015, another $180,000.
On November 30 last year, the Wall Street Journal reported that lobbyists received $280,000 to oppose a Senate bill that expanded sanctions against Russia. The newspaper also added that Gazprombank paid lobbyists $150,000 and the Russian Direct Investment Fund $160,000.
In the middle of last year, Gazprombank was included in a sanctions list. The bank was denied access to US debt financing, but can still do business with the Americans. Novatek also came under the blows of sanctions, but the US left the concern with the possibility of selling shares to American investors.
Washington / USA
#Firms #Washington #lobbying #Russian #companies
