Polish business daily Puls Biznesu reported that Poland’s Court of Competition and Consumer Protection (SOKiK) reviewed Gazprom’s appeal against a PLN 213 million (EUR 47.5 million) fine imposed in 2020 by Tomasz Chróstny, head of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK).
The penalty was issued due to Gazprom’s lack of cooperation in proceedings involving six major companies involved in the construction of the second pipeline through the Baltic Sea.
UOKiK had requested various documents, including agreements on transmission, distribution, sales, supply, and storage of gas fuels. Gazprom ignored these requests. When UOKiK discovered that Gazprom had not even sought permission from the Russian Ministry of Energy to release the documents, the agency concluded that Gazprom was deliberately sabotaging and obstructing the investigation.
Consequently, UOKiK imposed the maximum possible fine of EUR 50 million (then PLN 213 million) for non-cooperation. Gazprom appealed the decision to SOKiK.
"The court issued a ruling confirming the 2020 decision of the UOKiK president, sanctioning Gazprom for failing to provide information in the proceedings regarding the formation of a consortium financing the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. The court fully affirmed the findings of the UOKiK president that Gazprom was obliged to provide the information and cooperate during the proceedings. The court reduced the fine to over PLN 174 million," UOKiK spokeswoman Małgorzata Cieloch told Puls Biznesu.
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Source: PAP, Puls Biznesu