Or: How Gazprom’s call option on Eni’s stake in Gazprom Neft proves Yukos asset laundering – and I can’t believe I am the only one paying attention to it Just for rhetorical purposes, let’s imagine way back to that time before Europe was subservient to the Russian energy oligopoly. Back before the national champions of Germany, France, and Italy would accept just any deal engineered from the Kremlin, no matter how pernicious to the energy security of other EU member states and no matter how opaque or corrupt the implications, back when there was still genuine competition, thriving independence, and corporate social responsibility. It was only April, 2006.