Germany raids Russian suspect over 2022 scheme to liquidate Gazprom unit and sabotage gas supply

Berlin and Frankfurt raids

German federal police, acting on orders from Federal Prosecutor General Jens Rommel, conducted simultaneous searches at a private residence in Berlin and an unnamed company in Frankfurt this morning. The operation targets a Russian citizen suspected of helping to undermine Germany’s gas supply in early 2022. No arrests were made; the searches are part of an ongoing effort to gather evidence and clarify existing suspicions, according to the prosecutor’s office.

The searches today serve to clarify the existing suspicions.

The 2022 sabotage attempt

The investigation centers on events that unfolded just weeks after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. At the end of March 2022, the parent company Gazprom sold its German subsidiary Gazprom Germania GmbH through a series of indirect transactions. The buyer was a Moscow-based firm with no prior connection to the energy sector. Immediately after the sale, the new owners ordered the liquidation of the unit, which at the time held at least 25 percent of Germany’s natural gas storage capacity.

There is the suspicion that the sale and liquidation were intended to disrupt the gas supply in Germany.

The liquidation order was issued without obtaining the required approval from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs, a violation of investment regulations under the Foreign Trade Act. The Russian suspect is accused of having actively supported the implementation of that order, knowing its aim was to harm Germany’s energy security.

Government intervention and aftermath

The attempt was thwarted before it could take effect. In early April 2022, then-Economics Minister Robert Habeck placed Gazprom Germania under the temporary trusteeship of the Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur). The government declared the company “of paramount significance” for natural gas trade, transport, and storage.

It was necessary at the time to set up the trusteeship to ensure the security of energy supply.

Later, the German government fully nationalized the company and rebranded it as Securing Energy for Europe (Sefe). The episode unfolded amid a broader energy crisis: Moscow cut off its remaining gas supplies to Germany months later, and undersea explosions damaged the Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea, built to carry Russian gas northward.

Broader pattern of threats

The raids are part of a heightened state of alert in Germany over Russian hybrid threats, including sabotage and espionage. In recent months, German authorities have arrested several individuals suspected of spying for Russia from within the country. A new Joint Center for Countering Hybrid Threats began operations in Berlin just days before the searches, reflecting growing concern among security agencies.