All news

Rosneft to work with any Sakhalin leadership — vice president Leontyev

The company will continue to have contacts with any Sakhalin leadership, this is a business presence area for Rosneft, the same as for other companies, Vice President Mikhail Leontyev told TASS

MOSCOW, 4 March. /TASS/. Russia’s major oil company Rosneft will work with any leadership of the Sakhalin region, and the statement that the company CEO Igor Sechin supports governor Alexander Khoroshavin are not consistent with the reality, Rosneft Vice President Mikhail Leontyev told TASS on Wednesday.

Khoroshavin was arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of large-scale bribery. The long-serving governor of the Pacific island, Alexander Khoroshavin, 55, was arrested alongside several other officials for "receiving a bribe on a particularly large scale," the Investigative Committee said in a statement. "Large sums of money have been confiscated in rubles and foreign currency, a large quantity of jewellery and costly watches and cell phones," said the statement, adding that searches were ongoing. Khoroshavin, who has been governor of Sakhalin since 2007, has been transferred to Moscow where a court will rule on whether he must be held behind bars during the investigation. He could face up to 15 years in jail.

After his detention a number of media reported that Khoroshavin enjoyed the support of the CEO of Rosneft that is implementing a number of major projects in Sakhalin.

"We think it’s a paid-for media campaign that has no relation to Khoroshavin or Sakhalin, of the case circumstances — it’s just an excuse to mention the company head in a negative way," said Leontyev, adding that "nobody has and cannot justify this statement."

He added that "Rosneft has had, has and will continue to have contacts with any Sakhalin leadership. This is a business presence area for Rosneft, the same as for other companies."

Leontyev said the company implements a number of major projects in the region, including Sakhalin-1 with the recently put into operation largest oil platform at the Arkutun-Dagi field.

"All these projects have a positive impact on the regional economy. Our company sees no grounds for such statements. They are not consistent with reality," said the vice president of Rosneft.