The Ukrainian Euromaidan coup followed by a ruthless civil war was "all about the money," to be more precise it was all about Western banking interests, political scientist and expert on Eastern Europe Phil Butler emphasizes.
"The energy companies: Dutch Royal Shell, Avante Petrolem, ARCO, along with lesser known entities like BG Group, Naftogaz and Ukrnafta now surface in news to reveal the dirty dealings that went on underneath all this Ukraine killing. Yes, you always knew it was about money from the moment you read Vice President Joe Biden's son got a position in Ukraine energy, your fears the 'fix' was on were verified," Butler wrote in his recent article for New Eastern Outlook.
According to the political scientist, in the case of Ukraine "the pie" was "the hard earned livelihoods" of ordinary Ukrainian citizens. "They are the ones 'guaranteeing' the oligarchs' investment, which is in fact no investment at all," Butler stressed.
One of the key elements of the Ukrainian specific financial system dubbed by the political scientist "the gas ring" has always been Ukrnafta, the largest producer of oil and gas in Ukraine. The company is a subsidiary of Ukraine's state-owned oil and gas company Naftogaz. Naftogaz owns 50 percent plus one share in Ukrnafta. Forty two percent belongs to the Privat Group based in Dnipropetrovsk.
"With revenues flowing to the parent company from branches like gas stations, oil refining, Russian gas transit features, and drilling operations Ukrnafta is supposed to fuel bond and security annuities and dividends, it's supposed to pay back the Ukraine people in the form of profits. But this is not what happens," Butler noted.
Now that Ukrnafta is broke, the reins of the company have been handed to British national Mark Rollins. Previously Rollins served as Vice President of BG Group in Kazakhstan. Prior to this, he worked as the Chief Executive Officer of Avante Petroleum, a private exploration and production company with branches in Brazil, Colombia and Mexico.
"Back to Mr. Rollins, his role for BG Group is vital to our understanding of what is about to happen in Ukraine. BG Group is the largest supplier of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) gas to the United States, and one of the largest in the world overall," Butler remarked, adding that the group has certain links to Schlumberger Limited, world's largest oil field development firm. Schlumberger Limited in its turn is closely connected to the world famous Rothschilds and Goldman Sachs International.
Curiously enough, Rothschild's Director of the CIS, Giovanni Salvetti, advises Petro Poroshenko, the political scientist added.
Rollins' role is an important one: "he's the dealmaker in between the former beneficiaries of all this [Ukrainian] gas, and the future ones out to the West."
Under the smokescreen of the Ukrainian turmoil the Western "big" banking elite has taken over the country's wealth, including its gas and oil production companies.
"These former oligarchs, it's now in their best interest to fade out of view of the public eye. The private banks they own, their high profile control of everything from chocolate to dish washer detergent, it will appear to come to an end. Ukraine's citizens will now pay for a new energy cartel. They'll live, work, borrow, buy, and die to pay for Westerners' lavish wants and needs," Butler stressed.
"NATO may not have moved in, Washington probably never strategized Ukraine would really be part of the EU, the power play was very likely about changing bankers, after all," the political scientist elaborated.
