Documents: Tillerson Is Director of U.S.-Russian Oil Firm in Bahamas

ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for secretary of State, is the director of a U.S.-Russian oil firm based in the Bahamas, according to leaked documents. The documents, which are from a corporate registry in the notorious offshore tax haven, show that Tillerson has been in the position at Exxon Neftegas, an ExxonMobil subsidiary, since 1998. Exxon said incorporating in the Bahamas was done out of “simplicity and predictability,” and not to “reduce tax in the country where the company operates.” Tillerson has come under fire for his alleged coziness with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, for example, said he does not want someone who is a “friend” of Putin to be representing the U.S. as the country’s top diplomat.