Gazprom demands $288m debt from MoldovaGaz

The Russian concern Gazprom filed a claim with the Moscow-based International Commercial Court of Arbitration in a bid to recover a $288.2m debt owed by MoldovaGaz since 2006-2007; 86 percent of the amount is owed by the Transnistrian region, the Moldovan gas utility said in a press release, quoted by Info-Prim Neo. The bulk of the debt – $247.7m or 86 percent – represents the amount owed by Tiraspoltransgaz Ltd. “This debt accumulated as a result of force majeure circumstances and namely by the impossibility to exert influence over Tiraspoltransgaz which operates in the (uncontrolled) region of Transnistria”, the press release said. According to MoldovaGaz, this is not the first move of the kind by Gazprom. Earlier, in 2007, Gazprom filed 4 debt claims for $96.1m owed entirely by Transnistria. In 2008 all four claims were satisfied in full by the International Commercial Court of Arbitration. MoldovaGaz also said that Gazprom's actions were the result of federal customs and currency requirements concerning debt recovery. However, so far Gazprom hasn't taken any step to enforce the rulings of the arbitration court concerning the historical debt owed by MoldovaGaz.