Gazprom badly impacted by war, Gazprom says: Russian gas giant Gazprom faces a lost decade due to the loss of European markets, according to a report prepared last year for its management, the Financial Times reported this week. According to the research, the company/’s exports to Europe are expected to average one-third of the levels seen before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The company and Russia’s political leadership are hoping that the Power of Siberia 2 pipeline to China will replace these volumes, although a final deal on this did not come out of President Vladimir Putin’s recent visit to Beijing and China is expected to extract significantly lower prices for gas.

Poland seeks energy boss and political candidate over visa scandal: The Polish parliament is reportedly seeking a judicial order to compel Daniel Obaijtek, the former CEO of Poland’s largest fuel company, Orlen, to appear for questioning over the long-running “cash-for-visa” scandal over illicit issuance of visas to migrant workers. He also reportedly faces other investigations linked to his tenure. There are political overtones to the clash. Obaijtek is a candidate for the opposition Law and Justice Party (PiS) in the June European Parliament elections. Investigative media outlet VSquare, meanwhile, appeared to have tracked him down to a penthouse apartment owned by a company close to Viktor Orbán’s government. The episode underlines that Orbán’s government appears willing to make Hungary help its political allies in trouble (Obaijtek has not been charged or convicted of any crime). In a bizarre episode in February, former President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil spent two nights in Hungary’s embassy in Brasilia amid reports that the federal police were seeking an arrest warrant for him. 

The US asks American companies to step up sanctions enforcement: Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo went on CNBC this week to ask US companies, especially manufacturers of microelectronics and machine tools, to improve compliance to help cut off supplies of dual-use goods to Russia, including those supplied via Chinese producers and other intermediaries. He also called on intermediaries, including shipping companies and banks, to step up compliance. Amid these calls, it is striking that the US authorities have yet to launch any significant enforcement measures against any large US or European company or bank since Russia’s full-scale invasion. This raises the question of what real incentives, beyond morality, exist for Western companies to take any but the most minimal measures to secure their supply chain.

US and China clash over Russia sanctions: US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and Deputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer met China’s Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu in Washington late last week as part of a long-running bilateral engagement over issues including security and trade. The day before, US officials told reporters of the need “to send a collective message of concern to China about its actions, which we view are destabilizing in the heart of Europe.” China’s economic support and supply of crucial components are crucial for Russia’s war effort. Earlier in May, the UK said it believed China was preparing to provide or already providing lethal aid to Russia. One crucial question not examined publicly is how much Chinese forced labor is involved in supplying Russia’s war machine.