Did the federal government bring Russian agents into the company with the nationalization of the energy company Gazprom Germania?
Research by the WDR suggests that there was information about several employees last year.
“Securing Energy for Europe GmbH,” as Gazprom was renamed after the trusteeship, says there are no signs of possible activity.
In November 2022, Gazprom Germania was nationalized. Now the question is: Did the federal government bring Russian spies into the house through nationalization? Research by the WDR shows that there should have been corresponding information about several employees in the past year.
The nationalization of Gazprom Germania
At the beginning of April 2022, Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck ordered the trusteeship of Gazprom Germania to protect public safety and order and maintain security of supply. Gazprom operates critical infrastructure in Germany and is of outstanding importance for the gas supply.
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In the Government notice It is said that this step had become necessary in order “not to endanger the security of supply in Germany through arbitrary decisions by Russia”. In the course of this, Gazprom Germania was renamed “Securing Energy for Europe GmbH” to make the goal of the measure clear. In November 2022, the company was nationalized for a double-digit billion amount. The employment contracts of the staff remained unaffected by this step. Safety checks on employees were also omitted because they are not permitted under labor law.
Spies in the ranks of “Securing Energy for Europe GmbH”?
After Research by the WDR employees who are considered a potential risk by the German security authorities were also taken on in this way. As early as last year, several employees were suspected of being connected to Russian secret services. The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, or BfV for short, is said to have taken a closer look at these people.
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Among other things, some employees have access to documents on the German energy supply that are classified as confidential. One person in particular is suspected of being well connected with the Kremlin. This person is responsible for security and data protection in the nationalized successor company. A spokeswoman for “Securing Energy for Europe GmbH”, Sefe for short, explained on request that there had never been any official information on secret service activities for the person named.
“Sefe has no concrete indications of possible activities”
Sefe states: “Sefe has followed up on unofficial tips and has taken appropriate measures to protect sensitive information. Sefe is in close contact with the responsible security authorities for unofficial information. Sefe has not received any concrete indications of possible activities and these have not been confirmed by the authorities either.” The company is aware of the importance of counter-espionage for the company and of Germany’s energy supply and has taken measures. For example, the offices of the management have been made bug-proof.
Warnings to German security authorities from those around the company are said to have been given last year. Content of these: Some employees are said to have close ties to Russian secret services. In fact, it would not be the first time that employees of the company have been associated with the Russian secret services: in 2008, the head of finance and the head of human resources made headlines because both previously worked for the Ministry for State Security, or Mfs for short, in the GDR.
When asked, the Federal Network Agency said that it was not aware of any “concrete evidence” of possible intelligence links. Last year, the Federal Network Agency was initially responsible for the fiduciary management of Gazprom Germania. Nevertheless, according to a spokesman, “immediately after the start of the trust administration, a general representative was appointed who, together with an external team of consultants, took over all central business functions”. As a result, the previous company representatives were no longer responsible for critical information and important decisions.
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