EU antitrust investigators raided Gazprom's German offices, sources said on Thursday, on suspicion that the Russian energy giant had illegally raised prices in Europe.
In a statement, the European Commission said its teams carried out unannounced inspections on Tuesday "at the premises of several companies in Germany active in the supply, transport and storage of natural gas".
Two sources with knowledge of the matter said the main target of the operation was Gazprom, the state-owned gas giant accused of causing an energy crisis in the European Union.
According to a Bloomberg report, officials visited offices of companies that included Gazprom Group companies Germania GmbH and Wingas GmbH, which supply about 20 percent of the German market.
The EU's powerful antitrust authority is currently investigating allegations that Gazprom pressured its European customers by restricting supply, causing prices to skyrocket.
Gazprom has strong influence in the EU, with Russia providing about 40 percent of gas supplies mainly to Germany, Italy and some Eastern European countries. The flow of gas to the EU has been the subject of controversy in the war in Ukraine, with Kiev calling on Europeans to cut off their Russian supply line to punish the Kremlin for its invasion.
However, the EU has avoided imposing an energy embargo on Russia, fearing the heavy impact on the economy, particularly on factories that would risk being shut down in the short term if the supply suddenly stopped. Germany and Austria raised the alert level under their gas contingency plans on Wednesday over fears that Russia could cut off supplies. Given the tensions, the European Union said it plans to cut imports of Russian gas by two-thirds this year.
Source: CNA
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