He was a founding adviser to the U.S. Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce, and went into business with the head of that organization, Reza Vaziri, a high-ranking pre-revolution Iranian official, according to his company biography. They acquired rights to mine in Azerbaijan in 1997 in partnership with the country’s government, before being absorbed in 2005 by a British company, Anglo Asian Mining PLC.

Vaziri became the CEO of Anglo Asian, and Sununu joined the board. A Sununu family trust also owned more than $50,000 of stock in the company as recently as 2009, the last time a member of the family held a federally elected office requiring a financial disclosure listing its assets. According to Anglo Asian’s latest annual report, Vaziri and Sununu remain the company’s largest shareholders.

Over the years, Anglo Asian Mining expanded its operations in Azerbaijan, and now holds the rights to mine gold, copper and silver deposits in eight contract areas across the country. It has lost and gained access to some due to Azerbaijan’s decadeslong conflict with Armenia. The company has largely steered clear of the conflict, but was criticized by the international Armenian community after it celebrated the “liberation” of a mining site through a 2020 peace deal between the two countries. One U.K.-based Armenian organization accused Anglo Asian of “exploiting” the conflict for financial gain. 

“Anglo Asian Mining has a strong track record of operating its mines and production facilities with a commitment to best practices,” a company spokesperson said. “The company works with its stakeholders at the local and national levels to maintain its high level of environmental and social stewardship — and will continue to do so as it expands its operations.”

It was after Michael Sununu, who runs several New Hampshire-based family companies with brother James, joined the Anglo Asian board in late 2020 that the company got involved in mining outside Azerbaijan. It became the largest shareholder of Libero Copper & Gold as the Canadian company was seeking funding to ramp up its exploration at the Mocoa site, earning John H. a nearly 2% stake in Libero. As part of the deal, Michael joined the Libero board.

Many political families have sprawling business interests, said Virginia Canter, chief ethics counsel for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, but it is international investments, particularly board memberships, that can raise the most ethical concerns for public officials. 

“Foreign entanglements potentially give rise to questions about favoritism, bias, undue influence, and the potential for corruption,” she said. “As the world became more globally connected, these family opportunities have escalated, and their significance has probably escalated in turn.”

The U.S. is a prime market for green energy metals, as the country looks to ramp up imports and secure its supply to meet its climate goals. A company presentation posted on Libero’s website in March emphasized the potential of the U.S. as a major export market for the copper it hopes to produce at the Colombian mine.

“[Board membership] suggests an increased level of involvement and profit connection than just someone who owns some random amount of shares,” said Baumgart of OpenSecrets. But the extent and influence of those ties is difficult to trace because financial disclosure requirements differ by type of elected official, and most American financial disclosures only require officials to include information about spouses and dependents, not parents, siblings or other family members. 

The father and son Sununu board members also share another interest — they are both outspoken critics of the scientific consensus on human-caused climate change. John’s efforts in the White House in the late 1980s have been credited as one of the key reasons the U.S. did not sign an early binding climate agreement. Michael has argued against climate science-based policy and legislation at the state level, as well as in op-eds and in a research paper published by a free market think tank where his father and a brother serve on the board.

Both John H. and Michael declined to comment on their views on climate change or their business holdings, referring NBC News to the statement provided by Anglo Asian Mining. 

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Harris, the Libero CEO, said that while he cannot comment on anyone’s beliefs, climate-change denial has not come up in any of Libero’s board meetings. “I don’t think it’s had a significant influence on the strategy of the company, if any,” he said, adding that he has never met John H. Sununu and never heard Michael Sununu “share those feelings.”

Chris is the only family member currently serving as an elected official above the local level. In his 13 years holding New Hampshire public office, six as governor, he has charted a unique energy approach for the region, opposing a variety of climate change initiatives adopted by neighboring states and vetoing energy transition legislation. In 2019, a New Hampshire Public Radio podcast devoted an hour to examining the governor and his family’s relationship to climate change. 

“Governor Sununu recognizes that human behavior has contributed to climate change,” said Brandon Pratt, his deputy communications director. “He has supported several clean energy bills throughout his tenure as governor and has been a vocal supporter of hydro and solar development projects that protect ratepayers from burdensome subsidies.”

The governor’s investments are opaque. His New Hampshire financial disclosures show that for the last four years, he has made more than $10,000 in income annually from Sununu Holdings, the same family trust that held stock in Anglo Asian Mining in 2009. But New Hampshire does not require him to list the trust’s assets, so there is no public record that would show whether he personally holds a small stake in either mining company.

“Governor Sununu has no involvement in the operations of Anglo Asian Mining or the operations of Sununu Holdings, and files all financial disclosures required by law,” Pratt said.

After hinting at and taking initial steps for a potential presidential run, the governor announced in early June that he would not enter the 2024 race. Sununu did not rule out a later bid for the nation’s highest office. He remains on the national stage — as the governor of the first primary state, he is a coveted adviser to candidates in the crowded Republican primary field. Should he run in the future, he would have to submit a federal disclosure that would include more details of his assets within 30 days of being deemed a candidate by the Federal Election Commission.

The mine

Mocoa is the only active copper mining project in the Colombian Amazon, putting it in conflict with the country’s other major environmental goal: preserving the rainforest. 

The land which Libero has the rights to explore on includes nearly 7 square miles of the forest reserve, called the Upper Mocoa River Basin Protected Forest Reserve, and 5.7 square miles of two Indigenous reservations, including Pasuy’s. Two square miles of Libero’s area of exploration rights overlap with the reserve and one of the reservations.