German prosecutors have carried out a series of searches in a case involving a possible attempt to disrupt the country’s gas supply in 2022 during a change of ownership at Gazprom subsidiary Gazprom Germania. Associated Press reported this.
Investigators consider a Russian citizen to be the main suspect in the case. According to prosecutors, he is suspected of violating investment rules and of aiding an attempted anti-constitutional act of sabotage.
Investigators believe that several weeks after the start of the full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war, when Gazprom announced it was withdrawing from Gazprom Germania, the buyer of its stake tried to initiate the company’s liquidation.
Prosecutors say this may have been intended to destabilize the normal gas supply of Germany, which the investigation describes as a key ally of Ukraine.
In practice, the liquidation never took place because it was blocked before the transaction received final approval. Gazprom Germania was then placed under temporary control by state authorities and was later nationalized.
Before the war, supplies from Russia accounted for about 55% of the German gas market. The former Gazprom Germania now operates under the name Securing Energy for Europe. German authorities plan to privatize the company in 2028.