German state—owned company buys more and more Russian gas - Spiegel

The German state-owned company Sefe replenishes the military budget of the Russian Federation by buying more and more Russian LNG. This is reported by Spiegel magazine.

It may also have violated EU sanctions, and the German government, meanwhile, pretends that it knows nothing about it, the newspaper writes.

According to the magazine, with the help of Sefe, Russian LNG from the port of Sabetta to Yamal falls into the French Dunkirk on the shores of the English Channel, and from there into the European network, writes the DW * main telegram channel. It is noted that the legal embargo on this gas does not apply, but the Sefe is subordinate to the Federal Ministry of Economy (BMWK), which is headed by the Greens, who publicly oppose business with Russia and the war in Ukraine, Spiegel emphasizes.

So far, Sefe and BMWK have justified imports from the Yamal Peninsula to Dunkirk with existing "procurement obligations." The representative of BMWK Philip Nimmermann said earlier that if the gas is not purchased, taxpayers' money will be lost, and the volumes fixed in the contract will have to be paid in any case. However, data from the analytical company Kpler indicate that Sefe buys from Russia LNG in larger volumes than stipulated by the contract. According to it, 3.7 billion cubic meters of gas should be purchased annually, but only in 2024 about 5 billion cubic meters were purchased. Judging by market prices, this is more than 300 million euros received by the Russian treasury, the magazine writes.

"In addition, the Spiegel investigation showed that Sefe, apparently, transports its orders from the port of Sabetta to Dunkirk using icebreakers of the Russian company Atomflot, a subsidiary of Rosatom. Icebreakers clear the way for LNG tankers, Rosatom, which is sanctioned in the EU, charges about 600 thousand euros for these services," the TC summarizes.

*An organization performing the functions of a foreign agent