US Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle is at the center of a controversy over her links to Greek company Aktor Group. As she works to help European countries buy US natural gas, her close association with the company and its lobbyist Christos Marafatsos has drawn attention. Here’s what we know about the controversy.
But she has repeatedly promoted one specific company, Aktor Group, a newcomer to the gas business.
Guilfoyle has been pushing European governments to buy US liquefied natural gas as part of a “vertical gas corridor” meant to move gas away from Russia, according to The Wall Street Journal . In Bulgaria, Guilfoyle told the government that it should work with Aktor. A person familiar with the talks said, as per The Wall Street Journal, “There is no doubt that this is kind of an official position of the US government. However, as per The Wall Street, the government officials who met with Marafatsos and Guilfoyle said he did not mention his ties to Aktor. Robin Brooks, a former National Security Council director for the Balkans and Central Europe, called the situation “absolutely problematic”. She said bringing a registered lobbyist into meetings with foreign officials “calls into question whether the meeting is advancing American interests or advancing some sort of private interest. A US Embassy official said that Guilfoyle traveled to Bulgaria “to advance American interests: increasing sales of US LNG to European partners and decreasing European dependence on Russian gas,” and that she was in “full compliance with State Department guidance. A lawyer for Guilfoyle said she has “worked with companies across the energy sector” and hasn’t focused on one company. President Trump had nominated Guilfoyle as ambassador to Greece in December 2024, calling her a “close friend and ally” who is “perfectly suited to foster strong bilateral relations with Greece.”
