The German Federal Public Prosecutor's Office has been searching private premises of a Russian in Berlin and a company in Frankfurt since Wednesday morning. The Karlsruhe-based prosecution authority suspects that he supported the restructuring of Gazprom Germania at the end of March 2022, thereby intending to impair Germany's gas supply.
At that time, Gazprom Germania held at least 25 percent of natural gas storage capacities in Germany. After the start of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the shareholders transferred the company shares to a Moscow-based company that had not previously been active in the energy sector. Immediately after the sale, the new owners ordered the liquidation of the company. The Federal Ministry of Economics had not granted approval for this. The Russian is alleged to have supported the implementation of the liquidation decision.
The ministry placed Gazprom Germania under the trusteeship of the Federal Network Agency, preventing the liquidation. Gazprom Germania was a subsidiary of the Russian state-owned company Gazprom and was nationalized in Germany as a consequence of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and the energy crisis.
According to the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office, the searches are intended to find evidence. No arrests were made.
Source: www.faz.net
