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.
What is the controversy?
According to The Wall Street Journal, 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. But she has repeatedly promoted one specific company, Aktor Group, a newcomer to the gas business.
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.”
Aktor recently signed a $6 billion deal to supply US LNG to Albania, even though it is new to the business.
Guilfoyle is often seen in these meetings with 39-year-old Christos Marafatsos. He has attended so many of her meetings that some foreign officials thought he was her chief of staff. In reality, he is a top lobbyist for Aktor. The company’s CEO had flown Guilfoyle to Bulgaria on a private jet.
{{/usCountry}}Guilfoyle is often seen in these meetings with 39-year-old Christos Marafatsos. He has attended so many of her meetings that some foreign officials thought he was her chief of staff. In reality, he is a top lobbyist for Aktor. The company’s CEO had flown Guilfoyle to Bulgaria on a private jet.
{{/usCountry}}However, as per The Wall Street, the government officials who met with Marafatsos and Guilfoyle said he did not mention his ties to Aktor.
Federal lobbying records show that Aktor paid Marafatsos $160,000 through June this year to build connections with the White House, State Department and Energy Department.
Why experts say this is a problem
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.
What Guilfoyle and others have said
Secretary of State Marco Rubio called Guilfoyle an “incredibly effective advocate for the President's agenda," adding that he and Trump "greatly value" her work.
When the Albania deal was confirmed in April, Guilfoyle said, “I was honored to travel to Tirana to advance POTUS' energy agenda and join PM Edi Rama to take part in the signing of a historic deal between Albania, Venture Global, and Aktor LNG USA on a 20-year US LNG agreement.” The deal was a $6 billion, 20-year agreement in which Albania's state-owned gas firm agreed to buy one billion cubic meters of gas each year from Venture Global, a US LNG supplier, through a US subsidiary that Aktor had registered weeks earlier, as per The Wall Street Journal.
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.”