AAFS Nears $1 Billion Bosnia Pipeline Deal as Trump Allies Push to Displace Russian Gas
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · May 30
AAFS Nears $1 Billion Bosnia Pipeline Deal as Trump Allies Push to Displace Russian Gas
1 articles · Updated · The Guardian · May 30
Summary
$1 billion-plus in contracts are close to going to AAFS Infrastructure and Energy for Bosnia's Southern Interconnection, putting an obscure Trump-linked company near control of a strategic Balkan gas route.
March legislation named AAFS as contractor without a competitive tender after Bosnian officials, facing a September 2027 EU deadline to stop buying Russian gas, shifted from a state-run plan to a private US-backed one.
AAFS's key US figures are Jesse Binnall and Joe Flynn, whose infrastructure credentials are unclear but whose Trump-world ties helped win strong backing from Washington, which has pressed Bosnian leaders to approve the project.
The proposal seen by the Guardian puts the pipeline at €300 million, plus €900 million for three power plants, with financing expected from US equity and debt rather than the Bosnian state.
The deal also intersects with Bosnia's fragile post-1995 politics: Serb leader Milorad Dodik could have blocked the pipeline, but after Trump-linked outreach and lobbying he signaled in April he would not obstruct it.