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Lithuanian court declares 35.6 mln euro fine to Gazprom justified — media

The fine was imposed after the Russian company had refused to sign a gas swap deal with Lietuvos energijos gamyba (former Lietuvos energija)

MOSCOW, December 22. /TASS/. The Lithuanian court has upheld the decision of the local Competition Council, which imposed a 35.6 mln euros fine on Russian gas giant Gazprom in 2014, Reuters reported.

The fine was imposed after the Russian company had refused to sign a gas swap deal with Lietuvos energijos gamyba (former Lietuvos energija), Lithuanian agency BNS reported.

According to the local antimonopoly agency Gazprom’s refusal to sign the deal prevented the Lithuanian company from signing agreements with other gas suppliers. That meant that Gazprom violated the terms of the permission for the acquisition of 34% in Lietuvos dujos, that had been given by the Competition Council in 2004.

A deal with a European company would have allowed with Lietuvos energijos gamyba to decrease spending on gas. In its turn this would have adjusted prices of electricity for consumers, officials with the Competition Council said.

In 2012, Lietuvos energija, which sold the Russian natural gas, asked Gazprom to grant its consent for gas swap.

In 2015, Gazprom tried to challenge the fine in a court of Vilnius but the court rejected the claim.