The cost of auditing “Moldovagaz” increased by 350,000 euros and reached 1,150,000 euros, Minister of Energy Victor Parlikov said in “Территория свободы” (the Territory of Freedom) program on RLive TV.
According to him, the results will be presented to “Gazprom,” after which the debt repayment plan will be approved.
“The results of the audit will be publicly presented after the report will be sent to Gazprom,” Parlikov specified.
Parlikov did not name the exact figures from the report, which he read, referring to the points agreed by the parties. However, the minister said that “part of a significant debt has accumulated because the company (Moldovagaz) took a loan from Gazprom to cover some expenses that were not accepted.”
In August 2022, the Public Property Agency signed a contract with two foreign companies – Wikborg Rein Advokatfirma AS from Norway and Forensic Risk Alliance & Co from the UK – which obliged by January 30 to conduct an independent financial and legal audit of the historical debt of Moldovagaz to Gazprom. In November 2022, the Government allocated 800,000 euros from the reserve fund to pay for these services.
Gazprom claims that Moldovagaz has a historic debt of $709 million, including fines.