gk-press.if.ua
The company will continue the search for Gazprom assets in Switzerland, Vitrenko said.
Chief Commercial Officer of National Joint-Stock Company Naftogaz of Ukraine Yuriy Vitrenko says the company will continue to search for the assets of Russia's gas monopoly Gazprom to recover $2.6 billion in debt in line with the award of the Stockholm arbitration, despite the lifting of interim measures off Gazprom's shares by a Swiss court's ruling.
"By its decision, the Swiss court confirmed the validity of the arbitration decision and the possibility of enforcement of this decision in Switzerland. We only need to find assets to recover them. So, we'll continue to look for Gazprom assets in this country [Switzerland]," the company's press service quoted Vitrenko as saying.
According to the official, Nord Stream AG and Nord Stream 2 AG registered in Switzerland assured the bailiffs that they could not comply with the court's ruling to freeze (seize) the shares owned by Gazprom, since they were issued in documentary form. Moreover, they are not available at the said companies.
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"That is, there are no Gazprom assets in Switzerland, according to these companies. At least they have not been found there yet," he said.
Vitrenko also suggested that such an argument with regard to the Nord Stream shares, whose whereabouts and ownership are unclear, confirms the version that they have been distributed to Russian President Vladimir Putin's lobbyists in Europe.
"After these incidents with Nord Stream shares issued in documentary form, where it's not clear where they are and who they belong to, one can believe in the theory that they were distributed to 'Putin's friends,' in particular, in Europe. Therefore, certain politicians in Europe so desperately advocate [the construction of the] Nord Stream 2 [gas pipeline]," he said.