Polish court cancels record €6.46 billion fine imposed on Gazprom

A Polish court has cancelled a record €6.46 billion fine that was imposed by Polish authorities on Russian gas supplier Gazprom and its partners in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

The fine was overturned by the Competition and Consumer Protection Court on Monday, November 21 according to Russian news agency Kommersant after an appeal by the company.

Gazprom and its partners including Shell, Engie Energy, Uniper, OMV and Wintershal, were fined after said that the companies involved in the project did not create a common enterprise, as prescribed by law.

According to the Competition and Consumer Protection Authority UOKiK, in 2018, Gazprom concluded a deal with the companies listed above without the prior consent of the regulator. That they said could lead to a restriction of competition in the market.

They also say that the partners began financing the project without creating a joint venture and through loans, which is a violation of antimonopoly legislation.

Fines of 29.08 billion zlotys (€6.46 billion) and 234 million zlotys (€52 million) were levied in October 2020, roughly 70 per cent of the investment in the project (€ 9.5 billion).

A spokesperson for UOKiK said they intended to appeal today’s verdict wherein in a Polish court cancelled the fines levied against Gazprom and its partners.

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