Russian oligarchs and the heads of several companies under international sanctions are among the lobbyists currently attending the COP27 climate meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh, The Guardian reports.

Among the participants in key climate negotiations is billionaire and former aluminum magnate Oleg Deripaska, who was sanctioned by Britain. Next to him is billionaire Andriy Melnychenko, the former head of the Russian fertilizer company EuroChem Group, against whom the individual sanctions of the European Union are in effect, which he appealed, calling them “absurd and senseless.”

Russian giant Gazprom, which is under sanctions from both the US and the EU, has sent six delegates to key climate talks, along with the CEO of Sberbank, which is also facing sanctions from Washington and Brussels. Representatives of the Lukoil oil company, the Severstal mining company, and the Magnitogorsk Metallurgical Plant, which have also come under US sanctions, are also present.

Oil and gas giant Tatneft, currently under EU sanctions, sent three lobbyists to climate talks, according to data compiled by Corporate Accountability, Global Witness and the Corporate Europe Observatory. The Russian delegation also includes the metallurgical companies Severstal and NLMK Group, which are part of the industry that has faced sectoral sanctions from the EU.

The COP27 climate talks were largely animated by the debate over how the world should adapt to Russian gas shortages. They came after months of fears in Europe about energy shortages due to Moscow’s decision to abruptly cut gas supplies to Europe in response to international sanctions over President Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine last February.

The presence of oil and gas industry lobbyists and executives, including six representatives of the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Russia, a lobbying group designed to support business with Moscow, suggests that Russia is using the important climate talks to solicit business.

It also suggests that the Russian delegation may seek to promote unauthorized industries such as fertilizer production, which is linked to Russia’s influence on the global food supply and rising food prices.

Additionally, according to Bloomberg, the U.S. Treasury Department and State Department are quietly urging banking giants including JPMorgan and Citigroup to continue doing business with some strategic Russian firms.

The low-key effort is part of the administration’s efforts to minimize the negative effects of the sanctions regime designed to punish Russia.

British businessman Graham Bonham-Carter has been arrested after the US accused him of conspiring to violate sanctions imposed on Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska.

He was also charged with defrauding the financing of American real estate purchased by Deripaska and attempting to export Deripaska’s artwork to the United States.