German police probe alleged Russian gas sabotage attempt

BERLIN: German police carried out searches Wednesday as part of an investigation into suspicions that Russia’s sale of Gazprom’s Berlin-based subsidiary was intended to sabotage Germany’s gas supply.
The probe focuses on the weeks after Russia’s February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, when the state-controlled energy giant sold its Berlin-based subsidiary Gazprom Germania.
An opaque transfer of ownership sent alarm bells ringing in the German government, which then temporarily took control of the subsidiary that held at least 25 percent of Germany’s natural gas storage capacity.
German prosecutors charge that when ownership of Gazprom Germania was transferred, “a Moscow-based company with no ties to the industry appeared as the new owner,” who then “immediately... ordered the liquidation of Gazprom Germania.”
“There is suspicion that the sale and liquidation were intended to impair the gas supply in Germany,” the prosecutors said.
Police were Wednesday searching the Berlin premises of a Russian suspect and a company in Frankfurt in connection with the alleged sabotage attempt.
“The suspect — a Russian national — is alleged to have supported the implementation of the liquidation resolution with this aim in mind,” prosecutors said.
In 2022, Germany’s then economy minister Robert Habeck said the government had stepped in because of the “unclear” legal structure behind Gazprom Germania and the mother firm’s failure to comply with the obligation to inform German authorities of ownership changes.
Under German law, the government has the right to examine transactions involving non-EU firms deemed systemically relevant.
Germany announced in November 2022 that it was fully nationalizing Gazprom Germania, citing its systemic importance for the national power supply.
The company is now known as Securing Energy for Europe GmbH.
In recent months, Germany has made a number of arrests of alleged spies for Russia.
This month Germany opened the Joint Center for Countering Hybrid Threats, intended to coordinate efforts by security agencies against espionage, disinformation and sabotage blamed on Russia and other hostile powers.