MOSCOW, December 14. /TASS/. The Moscow Arbitration Court dismissed Siemens appeal on returning gas turbines delivered to Crimea bypassing the EU sanctions, TASS correspondent reported from the courtroom. The court also denied Technopromexport a counterclaim against Siemens
At the same time, representatives of both sides told reporters that they would determine their position regarding possible future appeals against the court’s decision later.
Earlier Siemens asked the court to return the gas turbines sold to Technopromexport and subsequently delivered to Crimea to Siemens Gas Turbines Technologies. "Proceeding from the invalidity of these transactions, we ask the court to oblige the actual purchaser of the equipment - Technopromexport - to return these gas turbine units to their original seller Siemens Gas Turbines Technologies," the company’s representative elaborated on the claim.
According to a Technopromexport representative, Siemens does not present civil rights violation claims in the lawsuit, but requires compliance with the EU sanctions by returning already supplied equipment.
Siemens believes that the structures of Rostec - LLC and JSC Technopromexport deliberately deceived the German concern by supplying gas turbines bought from the subsidiary company Siemens Gas Turbines Technologies to Crimea, and not to the Taman peninsula.
Turbines for Crimean thermal power plants
Technopromexport, a Russian company, is constructing two gas thermal power plants with a capacity of 470 MW in Sevastopol and Simferopol in Crimea. The plants will be commissioned on June 18, 2018.
In July 2017, a scandal broke out over the supply of turbines for those TPPs.
According to plans, the turbines produced under Siemens technology would be installed at the plants but at the end of 2016, but the German company halted deliveries because of the EU sanctions.
Reuters reported in July, citing sources, that Russia, despite sanctions, supplied the Siemens turbines to Crimea. The German corporation later confirmed 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. After that, Siemens filed a lawsuit against Technopromexport’s representatives.
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.
Legal battle
The Arbitration Court of Moscow was reviewing two lawsuits against Rostec structures. The first lawsuit was filed by the German company, Siemens (the meeting on it was postponed until December 14), the plaintiff in the second case is a joint venture between Siemens and Power Machines - Siemens Gas Turbines Technologies (postponed until December 11).
The concern is disputing two contracts. The first one is on the supply of gas turbine units, concluded in March 2015 between Siemens Gas Turbines Technologies and Technopromexport OJSC. The second is on the resale of these turbines LLC Technopromexport (the contract was concluded in October 2016). In addition, Siemens intends to get this equipment back. Similar requirements are contained in Siemens Gas Turbines Technologies lawsuit to Rostec enterprises.
LLC and JSC Technopromexport filed a counterclaim against Siemens and Siemens Gas Turbines Technologies. Head of Rostec Sergey Chemezov said earlier that he believed that the dispute between Technopromexport and the German concern for supplying turbines to Crimea is possible only in court. Chemezov believes that Siemens has little or no chances in the case, since the contract is already being carried out.