MOSCOW, August 22. /TASS/. Germany’s Siemens has filed a writ of appeal to Russia’s Supreme Court challenging the lower court’s decision to deny its lawsuit to two companies of Rostec corporation.
According to the court’s register, the writ of appeal was filed by Siemens and Siemens Gas Turbines Technologies (SGTT), a joint venture of Siemens and Russia’s Power Machines.
The complaint was submitted to the court on August 21, the date of proceedings is yet to be set.
In December 2017, the Moscow Arbitration Court dismissed Siemens appeal on returning gas turbines delivered to Crimea bypassing the EU sanctions. Siemens also demanded that the supplies of four turbines installations to Technopromexport, a company controlled by Rostec, should be declared invalid.
In the Arbitration Court of Moscow considered two lawsuits against the companies of Rostec (OJSC and LLC Technopromexport). The first lawsuit was filed by Siemens, while the second was submitted by SGTT. The Arbitration court decided not to uphold the claims. The German company and its subsidiary failed to challenge the decision in the court of appeal.
Turbines for Crimean thermal power plants
Technopromexport (part of Rostec) is constructing two gas thermal power plants with a capacity of 470 MW in Sevastopol and Simferopol in Crimea.
In July 2017, a scandal broke out over the supply of turbines for those TPPs.
According to plans, the turbines produced under Siemens technology were to be installed at the plants but at the end of 2016 the German company halted deliveries because of the EU sanctions.
In its turn, Rostec said that Technopromexport had purchased four sets of gas turbine units "on the secondary market" and the manufacturer of the equipment was not specified.
Siemens conducted an investigation and declared that all four gas turbine units for the Crimean thermal power plants turned out to be manufactured by Siemens and were supplied to the peninsula bypassing the EU sanctions. The German company went to court.
EU sanctions
In August 2017, the EU expanded sanctions against Russia by putting three companies and three people involved in the supply of Siemens turbines to the Crimea on the list: Deputy Energy Minister Andrei Tcherezov, head of a department at the Energy Ministry Evgeny Grabchak and General Director of Technopromexport Sergey Topor-Gilka. Restrictions have also been imposed against Siemens partner companies in Russia - Technopromexport OJSC, Technopromexport LLC and Interautomatica CJSC.