As of: 05/11/2022 11:05 p.m
Russia has announced sanctions against 31 energy companies. A list published by the Kremlin also includes parts of the Gazprom Germania group, which is under the trusteeship of the Federal Network Agency.
Russia has imposed sanctions on Gazprom Germania and other former subsidiaries of its state-owned gas company. With a total of 31 listed companies, no more business should be done from the Russian side, it said. The Russian government published an order according to which the trade bans come into force on behalf of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The sanctions include a ban on transactions and entry into Russian ports for ships associated with the companies concerned.
Gazprom Germania under trusteeship
Gazprom Germania was placed under the trusteeship of the Federal Network Agency at the beginning of April. The company is the owner of other important companies in the German gas industry. These include the gas trader Wingas, which supplies public utilities, among other things, and the gas storage operator Astora. They are also affected by the Russian sanctions.
The sanctions also affect the Polish company Europol GAZ, owner of the Polish part of the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline. Russia had previously stopped supplying gas to Poland.
Federal government: Security of supply guaranteed
The federal government stated that security of supply is currently guaranteed. A spokeswoman for the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection said: “We are evaluating these announcements. We still have no details.”
The federal government and the Federal Network Agency, as trustee of Gazprom Germania, are already preparing for various scenarios, it said. “The gas crisis team is closely monitoring the current situation. Security of supply is currently guaranteed and is constantly being checked,” said the spokeswoman.
Announced backlash from Russia
The affected companies in Germany, other EU countries, the USA and Great Britain were subject to western sanctions in the course of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. At the beginning of April, Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck temporarily appointed the Federal Network Agency as a trustee for the German subsidiary of the Russian state-owned company Gazprom after the Russian parent company Gazprom had given up the subsidiary.
Habeck justified this with unclear legal relationships and a violation of reporting regulations. The aim is to ensure security of supply.
The Kremlin had announced counteractions. In early May, Putin issued a decree banning any Russian entity from doing business with companies and individuals on the sanctions list. No products or raw materials may be exported to them. “Specifications should therefore be made within ten days,” said the Ministry of Economic Affairs.