Follow The Money #2

If you ever wondered why there was almost universal support amongst the corporate and political ruling elites for the Ukraine war, the oversized profits in the energy sector is a perfectly logical reason.
Now we can add another reason - the oversized profits for the merchants of death.

Journalists discovered that the Estonian company Bristol Trust OÜ had allegedly received 2 million euros, or 30% of the deal, in commission for facilitating the supply of 12,500 grenades for shoulder-fired missile launchers for Ukraine in March 2022 amid the Battle of Kyiv.

Such a commission is abnormally high, three to six times the market average, according to industry insiders journalists interviewed.

Multiple arms brokers who spoke on conditions of anonymity also acknowledged that they had raised prices for arms two to four times since Russia invaded Ukraine due to increased demand.

For this specific supply of 12,500 grenades for Ukraine in March, a complex chain of intermediaries was set in motion. First, a Dutch, then an Estonian, and finally, a Czech company got involved in providing Ukraine with much-needed ammo.

You can bet that the more someone digs, the more war profiteering will be found.

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https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Exxon-Posts-Highest-P...

Exxon said today it generated earnings of $55.7 billion and $76.8 billion of cash flow from operating activities in 2022 “by leveraging an advantaged portfolio and delivering strong operational performance.”

High oil and gas prices were the key reasons for higher profits at Exxon, which beat its own annual earnings record of $45.2 billion from 2008 – when oil prices hit a record $142 per barrel – and posted the highest-ever annual profit by a major Western oil firm.

“While our results clearly benefited from a favorable market, the counter-cyclical investments we made before and during the pandemic provided the energy and products people needed as economies began recovering and supplies became tight,” said Darren Woods, Exxon’s chairman and chief executive officer.

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earthling1's picture

Of prime "Black Earth" in eastern and southern Ukraine have been purchased by Blackrock, Cargill, DuPont, and Monsanto alone.
And the Russians a overtaking all of it. The anuses of a number of CEOs have just gotten tighter than a gnat's ass.

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Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.

The Liberal Moonbat's picture

@earthling1 I NEVER thought I'd be "rootin' for Putin", but give me any nation-state government, however messed-up, to put in charge of the world's bread-basket over total corporate psychopaths who've still managed to dodge the yoke of public accountability that nation-states have been universally recognized as bearing after 300 years of blood, sweat, and tears.

This isn't going to stop until we realize that CORPORATIONS ARE GOVERNMENTS, and must be treated, thought of, and spoken of like them in all respects.

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In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is declared mentally ill for describing colors.

Yes Virginia, there is a Global Banking Conspiracy!

snoopydawg's picture

@earthling1

to settle for sanction relief if they will vacate Ukraine. If Russia takes Odessa its game over for those companies and Ukraine becomes landlocked. Oops there goes all the wheat and stuff Zelensky sold off. But it’s doubtful that Russia will fall for it because they know that America won’t keep its word. Has there been any treaty made that we have upheld going back to the time we conquered the land?

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

Cassiodorus's picture

@snoopydawg Germany was touted as the model nation of the "energy transition" because the Germans had bought a few solar panels. Now it's like "omigod we need Russian gas (or some substitute thereof) to survive the winter!"

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"The war on Gaza, backed by the West, is a demonstration that the West is willing to cross all lines. That it will discard any nuance of humanity. That it is willing to commit genocide" -- Moon of Alabama

Creosote.'s picture

@earthling1
Do you mean that Russia will be pushing out these disastrous corporations and making certain that "the world's bread-basket" and its soil, birds, and creatures that require healthy dirt remain out of corporate control?
My impression is that Russia has not and will not welcome or permit "Gmo" farming.

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Cassiodorus's picture

For-profit war has been the standard modus operandi for decades now. I am awaiting the forthcoming New Yorker cartoon, with the business reps talking to each other amidst a scene from the world of Cormac McCarthy's "The Road": "Well, we got Armageddon, but for awhile there it generated lovely quarterly reports."

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"The war on Gaza, backed by the West, is a demonstration that the West is willing to cross all lines. That it will discard any nuance of humanity. That it is willing to commit genocide" -- Moon of Alabama