Overview
- On Wednesday prosecutors from the Bundesanwaltschaft carried out searches in Berlin and Frankfurt to collect evidence in an investigation of attempted verfassungsfeindliche Sabotage and breaches of the Außenwirtschaftsgesetz.
- Investigators say a Moskva-linked buyer took control of Gazprom Germania in March 2022 and ordered its immediate liquidation while the firm held about a quarter of Germany’s gas storage capacity.
- The Federal Ministry of Economics prevented that liquidation in April 2022 by placing the company under temporary trust administration with the Bundesnetzagentur and the firm was nationalized in November 2022 as Securing Energy for Europe (Sefe).
- Authorities identified a 51-year-old Russian suspect whose Berlin premises were searched and also examined the home of a 52-year-old woman who is not suspected; there were no arrests and the Zollkriminalamt is leading the police probe.
- If proven, prosecutors say the case would show a deliberate attempt to harm critical infrastructure and a breach of rules that require government approval for foreign control of key energy assets, a finding that could affect legal and state-ownership fallout for Sefe.