Thursday, 5 March 2009
According to the Ukrainska Pravda internet-newspaper, about 22.00 on Tuesday night, the Security Service of Ukraine detained the deputy head of the department of energy customs of the State Customs Service, Taras Shepitko.
According to the state security service; it started two days ago into the acquisition of 6.3 billion cubic meters of gas worth 7.4 billion hrynias ($884 million) for transit across the country. A spokeswoman for the National Security Service Marina Ostapenko, told the Associated Press the agency was investigating whether Naftogaz had improperly diverted about $900 million worth of natural gas.
As is well known, Gazprom, supplier of a quarter of Europe's gas, and Naftogaz signed agreement on January 19 which ended the gas dispute. As a consequence of the mentioned gas dispute deliveries from Russia via Ukraine to the European Union disrupted for about two weeks. It is also bear in mind that, Russia sends 80 percent of its European exports via Ukraine.
President Viktor Yushchenko said the operation was part of a criminal investigation into the firm, Naftogaz, which was at the center of the dispute with Russia this year that left gas customers in much of Eastern Europe shivering. However Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko evalutaed the raid as an attempt by "corrupt groups' to disrupt the company's operations just days before the Ukraine's critical payment to Russia.
Yushchenko and Tymoshenko were allies in the country's Orange Revolution. However, the rivalry for the presidential elections set apart two old allies. On the other hand the economy of Ukraine was one of the fastest growing in Europe until last summer; since then, Ukraine's gross domestic product has dropped an estimated 20 percent.
by Simge Soyer, JTW
