Ukraine's Naftogaz Claims Secured Seizure Of Over $2.56Bln Worth Of Gazprom's Assets

Ukraine's Naftogaz Claims Secured Seizure of Over $2.56Bln Worth of Gazprom's Assets

Ukrainian gas company Naftogaz has secured the seizure of Russia's Gazprom's foreign assets in excess of the amount of $2.56 billion awarded to the Ukrainian state-owned company by the Stockholm arbitration, Naftogaz CEO Andriy Kobolyev said Thursday

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th January, 2019) Ukrainian gas company Naftogaz has secured the seizure of Russia's Gazprom's foreign assets in excess of the amount of $2.56 billion awarded to the Ukrainian state-owned company by the Stockholm arbitration, Naftogaz CEO Andriy Kobolyev said Thursday.

"Gazprom has overseas property worth tens of billions of Dollars. We have already seized them in the amount exceeding the amount of Gazprom's debt to us. I think it is realistic to do this within a year," Kobolyev was quoted as saying by the UNIAN news agency.

Naftogaz is already writing off surplus funds that Gazprom had overpaid for gas transit, he noted.

"Secondly, we initiated legal processes in about six jurisdictions. In three of them � the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Kingdom � there will be hearings on the forced sale in the near future. There have already been seizures of assets. I look at this process very optimistically," the Naftogaz CEO concluded.

Gazprom and Naftogaz have been entangled in litigation since June 2014, when Gazprom switched Ukraine to a prepayment scheme citing its massive gas debt.

In late February, the Stockholm arbitration partially satisfied Naftogaz claims over what it said was the failure of Russian energy company to supply agreed volumes of gas for transit, ordering Gazprom to pay $4.63 billion to the Ukrainian firm. However, taking into account the amount of money previously awarded to Gazprom in relation with the gas supply contract, the mutual offset of liabilities resulted in Gazprom's obligation to pay $2.56 billion.

Gazprom filed an appeal to Sweden's Svea Court of Appeal, which ordered that the execution of the arbitration court's ruling but suspended, but Ukraine said it would start claiming the compensation via asset freezes in Switzerland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.