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Russian Energy Lobbying in Washington: What FARA and Lobbying Filings Show

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Federal records hold no foreign-agent registration for Russia’s Novatek or for the Alaska startup Polar LNG, a search of the Justice Department’s FARA database on Oct. 26 found. Lobbying reports filed with Congress tell a fuller story: Polar LNG has retained a major Washington law firm since April, and a Moscow oil and gas producers’ union has kept U.S. lobbyists since late 2024. This review of Russian lobbying FARA and lobbying-law filings sets out what each shows.

Where it stands: The newest filings are recent. Squire Patton Boggs filed its third-quarter report for Polar LNG on Oct. 15, listing $380,000 in income for July through September. Qorvis filed its report for the Union of Oil and Gas Producers of Russia on Oct. 21. Registering and lobbying are legal and public, and nothing in these documents alleges wrongdoing by anyone.

The filings matter now because of Joel Riddle, Polar LNG’s former chief executive, whose account, carried in the Financial Times and, separately, the New York Times on Oct. 23 and 24, is that Novatek was secretly financing the venture. Polar LNG rejects that and says its work is “in full compliance with applicable US laws.” Novatek says its role was never tied to sanctions relief, and the Abu Dhabi holding company Tech Wave says Novatek holds no stake in it. Regulators have not accused Polar LNG of breaking any rule. Our main report covers the dispute, and our guide to Tech Wave and Polar LNG’s funding covers ownership.

Two disclosure laws, two databases

Foreign influence in Washington is tracked under two statutes. The Foreign Agents Registration Act, run by the Justice Department, “requires certain agents of foreign principals” engaged in political activities to disclose those relationships and their money. The Lobbying Disclosure Act, administered by Congress, covers lobbying for any client, foreign or domestic.

The two overlap by design. According to the Justice Department, “An agent who is properly registered under the LDA is exempt from registration under FARA” unless the work serves a foreign government or political party. As the department puts it, “The exemption does not apply where a foreign government or a foreign political party is the principal beneficiary of the activities.” Commercial clients, including Russian companies, can therefore show up only in lobbying records.

Enforcement has also shifted. A Feb. 5, 2025 memo from Attorney General Pam Bondi said criminal FARA charges “shall be limited to instances of alleged conduct similar to more traditional espionage by foreign government actors,” with the FARA Unit told to “focus on civil enforcement, regulatory initiatives, and public guidance.” Our earlier piece on what FARA already requires explains the statute.

What Russian lobbying FARA filings show

We searched the full FARA foreign-principal file published by the Justice Department for Novatek, Polar LNG, Polar Train, Polar Eagle, Tech Wave and major Russian energy names. None of the Alaska-linked names appears. Gazprom and Rosneft entries exist, but all of those registrations ended by 2016.

Russian registrations are rare in general. Researchers at George Washington University’s Russia Program counted “only 147 Russian foreign agents” since 1942, “of whom 5 remain active in the beginning of 2026.” They also found that Russia has no visible lobbying network of trade groups, “with the sole exception of the Union of Oil and Gas Producers of Russia (UOGPR).”

That union is the one Russian energy principal in the 2024-26 FARA records. AF International, a firm in Bethesda, Maryland, registered it in December 2024. The attached contract, signed for the firm by Ayal Frank, says “the Client will pay AFI Sixty Thousand” “Dollars US ($60,000)” over four months. The planned political work: “AFI will communicate with governmental organizations and staff to communicate Union positions on topics including global gas market and the implementation of LNG projects.”

The firm’s later reports say no work was done. In its March 2025 report the firm wrote “no work during period” and “No Political Activity” for the union. Its March 2026 report lists the union under “terminated contracts” and “no payments,” with a termination date of Sept. 30, 2025.

One other active Russia registration involves an oil executive, but the filing says it is not about oil. Vermillion Advisors represents Eduard Khudainatov, head of Russia’s Independent Oil and Gas Company, in what it calls “a personal matter unrelated to NNK.”

The union’s second channel: Qorvis

The same union also hired Qorvis, through its Geopols unit, under the lobbying law. Its December 2024 registration lists the issue as “LNG, sanctions compliance” and describes the client as a “consortium of upstream energy producers.” O’Dwyer’s PR News reported at the time that Qorvis “will handle matters related to LNG projects and compliance with sanctions put into place following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”

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The quarterly reports since then are spare. For spring 2025, Qorvis reported $20,000 in income and contacts with the State Department on “General investment into LNG in the United States.” Its 2026 reports list the issue only as “Energy flows,” with the House, Senate, White House Office and, since the second quarter, Treasury among the offices contacted. The filings do not name the officials or say what was asked.

Client Law, firm Status
Novatek None under FARA LDA client 2014-15 via Qorvis
Polar LNG (U.S.) LDA, Squire Patton Boggs Active since April 2026
Oil and gas union (Russia) FARA, AF International Ended Sept. 2025, no work reported
Oil and gas union (Russia) LDA, Qorvis Active, latest report Oct. 2026
Arctic LNG 2 operator LDA, Scarinci & Hollenbeck Registered 2023, terminated 2025

Polar LNG’s own lobbyists

Polar LNG appears in the lobbying records as a domestic client, described as a “U.S. Arctic energy infrastructure company.” Squire Patton Boggs registered it effective April 1 of this year, with lobbyists Nicole Rodgers and Adam Suess. The form discloses, as the law requires, that Suess served at the Interior Department from March to October 2025 as acting assistant secretary for land and minerals management, then as a senior counselor to the secretary.

The firm’s second- and third-quarter reports each list $380,000 in income and describe the work as “Issues related to LNG permitting, exports and project development.” The agencies named include State, Energy, Treasury, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Executive Office of the President. ThePrint, carrying a Bloomberg report on the FT story, said Polar LNG had applied to Treasury’s sanctions office “for a license to purchase an unfinished gravity-based structure” from Novatek; the lobbying reports do not mention that request. The license process is explained in our OFAC license explainer.

Novatek’s earlier Washington footprint

Novatek did lobby in Washington, a decade ago. Qorvis registered OAO Novatek in 2014, the year the U.S. first placed it under financing restrictions, and reported $280,000 in income for the third quarter of that year on issues including the Russian Aggression Prevention Act and Executive Order 13662. Those reports list a lobbyist named Ayal Frank, the same name as the AF International principal who later signed the union’s contract. The GWU researchers date Novatek’s lobbying-law filings from 2014 to 2017.

The Arctic LNG 2 operator itself registered a lobbyist in February 2023, well before the U.S. blocking sanctions that November, on the “Export of gas turbines.” The New Jersey firm Scarinci & Hollenbeck filed no-activity reports from then on and terminated the registration in the first quarter of 2025.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Novatek registered as a foreign principal under FARA?

No. A search of the Justice Department’s FARA eFile bulk data on October 26 found no registration listing Novatek, Polar LNG, Polar Train LNG, Polar Eagle LNG or Tech Wave as a foreign principal. Novatek did appear as a lobbying client under the separate Lobbying Disclosure Act in 2014 and 2015.

Who lobbies for Polar LNG in Washington?

Squire Patton Boggs registered Polar LNG as a lobbying client effective April 1 of this year, under the Lobbying Disclosure Act. Its reports list lobbying on LNG permitting, exports and project development before Congress, the State, Energy and Treasury departments, FERC and the Executive Office of the President, with $380,000 in income in each of the second and third quarters.

What is the Union of Oil and Gas Producers of Russia’s U.S. lobbying?

The Moscow-based group hired AF International under FARA in late 2024 for gas-market and LNG work, but that firm later reported no work and no payments and ended the contract in September 2025. Qorvis has represented the group under the Lobbying Disclosure Act since December 2024, most recently reporting contacts with Congress, the White House Office and Treasury on energy flows.

Is lobbying for a Russian company legal?

Yes, if it is registered and the work itself is lawful. FARA and the Lobbying Disclosure Act require disclosure rather than banning representation, and an agent properly registered under the lobbying law is exempt from FARA unless a foreign government or political party is the principal beneficiary. Sanctions laws separately limit dealings with blocked parties.

Sources

This article is news reporting and analysis based on the public sources listed above, as they stood on the dates shown. Where officials, lawmakers or analysts disagree, including on whether an action is lawful, their positions are attributed to them; Donald Trump Class Action is not a court and nothing here is legal advice. Facts in a developing story can change.

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