German police search homes and company in Gazprom sabotage investigation
Berlin/Frankfurt – German police conducted raids on Wednesday in connection with suspected sabotage of Germany's gas supply through the sale of a Gazprom subsidiary.
German police search homes and company in Gazprom sabotage investigation
Berlin/Frankfurt – German police conducted raids on Wednesday in connection with suspected sabotage of Germany's gas supply through the sale of a Gazprom subsidiary. This is reported by LRT.lt.
The investigation period covers the timeframe after February 2022, when Russia began its full-scale attack on Ukraine. At that time, the state-owned energy giant Gazprom sold its Berlin-based subsidiary "Gazprom Germania". The unclear transfer of ownership to a Moscow-based company with no industry connections raised concerns with the German government. The authorities then temporarily took control of the company because it managed at least 25 per cent of Germany's natural gas storage capacity.
According to German prosecutors, "Gazprom Germania" was sold to a Moscow-based company that "immediately ordered the liquidation" of the enterprise. Investigators suspect that the sale and subsequent dissolution were deliberately aimed at damaging gas supplies in Germany.
During the raids on Wednesday, the premises of a Russian citizen in Berlin and a company in Frankfurt were searched. According to prosecutors, the suspect allegedly helped to implement the liquidation decision in order to achieve this objective.
Already in 2022, then German economy minister Robert Habeck intervened because the legal structure of "Gazprom Germania" was unclear and the parent company had not informed German authorities about the change of ownership. Under German law, the government is permitted to review transactions with non-European companies that are deemed systemically important. In November 2022, Germany fully nationalised "Gazprom Germania" citing its systemic importance to energy supplies. The company now operates under the name "Securing Energy for Europe GmbH".
In recent months, several individuals suspected of spying for Russia have already been arrested in Germany. This month, a Joint Centre for Combating Hybrid Threats was also established to coordinate security authorities in defending against espionage, disinformation and sabotage.
Source: LRT