Gazprom terminates surety into Dmytro Firtash’s loan

Gazprom has terminated the third-party surety it assigned in Gazprombank’s loan to the company of the Ukrainian businessman Dmytro Firtash Ostchem Holding Limited in late 2014. The surety amount was 3,427 billion rubles as of Sept 20, 2017, according to the Russian holding’s report on IFRS.

“The surety agreement was terminated on September 20, 2017,” the report says.

To recall, Ostchem Holding borrowed $842.5 million from Gazprombank for purchase of Russian gas. The loan was registered before the power change in Ukraine. In December, 2014, Gazprombank demanded Ostchem to redeem the loan and the interests accrued immediately, otherwise the bank could submit a request for loan repayment to the four chemical fertilizer plants that co-signed the loan agreement. Besides, the credit organization could recover from the pledge security – 5,679 billion cubic meters of gas in underground gasholders of Ukraine.

As EADaily reported earlier, Dmytro Firtash is currently under home arrest in Vienna (since March, 2014). He was detained in Vienna at the request of FBI over bribery charges ($18.5 billion to get access to titanium mineral in India). The Ukrainian tycoon is facing up to 50 years in prison and confiscation of all his assets. U.S. works towards extradition of Firtash. In February of 2017, the oligarch was again detained in Vienna at the request of Spanish Prosecutor’s Office on the basis of European arrest warrant. According to ABC Spanish newspaper, Spain suspects Firtash in money laundering. However, the Vienna Court rejected the request for Firtash’s extradition to Spain.

Forbes Ukraine has ranked Firtash as the 16th wealthiest person in the country. His assets are estimated at $251 million. According to mass media, he earned mostly on delivery of Russian gas to Ukraine and Central Europe.