From
the New York Times:
The
headline in Pravda trumpeted President Vladimir V. Putin’s latest coup, its
nationalistic fervor recalling an era when the newspaper served as the official
mouthpiece of the Kremlin: “Russian Nuclear Energy Conquers the World.”
The
article, in January 2013, detailed how the Russian atomic energy agency,
Rosatom, had taken over a Canadian company with uranium-mining stakes
stretching from Central Asia to the American West. The deal made Rosatom
one of the world’s largest uranium producers and brought Mr. Putin closer to
his goal of controlling much of the global uranium supply chain.
But
the untold story behind that story is one that involves not just the Russian
president, but also a former American president and a woman who would like to
be the next one.
At
the heart of the tale are several men, leaders of the Canadian mining industry,
who have been major donors to the charitable endeavors of former President Bill Clinton and
his family. Members of that group built, financed and eventually sold off
to the Russians a company that would become known as Uranium One.
Beyond
mines in Kazakhstan that are among the most lucrative in the world, the sale
gave the Russians control of one-fifth of all uranium production capacity in
the United States. Since uranium is considered a strategic asset, with
implications for national security, the deal had to be approved by a committee
composed of representatives from a number of United States government agencies.
Among the agencies that eventually signed off was the State Department, then
headed by Mr. Clinton’s wife, Hillary
Rodham Clinton.
As
the Russians gradually assumed control of Uranium One in three separate
transactions from 2009 to 2013, Canadian records show, a flow of cash made
its way to the Clinton Foundation. Uranium One’s chairman used his family
foundation to make four donations totaling $2.35 million. Those
contributions were not publicly disclosed by the Clintons, despite an
agreement Mrs. Clinton had struck with the Obama White House to publicly
identify all donors. Other people with ties to the company made donations as
well.
And
shortly after the Russians announced their intention to acquire a majority
stake in Uranium One, Mr. Clinton received $500,000 for a Moscow speech from
a Russian investment bank with links to the Kremlin that was promoting Uranium
One stock.
Read
the rest of the story here.
