An independent audit of Moldovagaz's debt to Gazprom can only be carried out by the Moldovan government, and this is confirmed by the protocol signed earlier by the parties - Veaceslav Negruta.
This was stated by Advisor to the President of Moldova on economic issues, member of the Supervisory Board of Moldovagaz"Veaceslav Negruta on the air of Jurnal TV. He noted that, according to paragraph 5 of the protocol dated October 29, 2021, “the Moldovan side will conduct an independent audit of the debt of Moldovagaz JSC to Gazprom PJSC and Factoring Finance LLC for the gas supplied to consumers on the right bank of the Dniester”, and the final audit report will be agreed at the level of the Moldovagaz Supervisory Board. Veaceslav Negruta drew attention to the fact that the term "Moldovan side" is used twice in the protocol, and in both cases it refers to a minority shareholder in Moldovagaz - the Moldovan government or the Public Property Agency. In particular, in the second case it is said that “the Moldovan side, within the framework of the decisions of the Commission for Emergency Situations of Moldova, will ensure the adoption of decisions on the allocation of additional financial resources to pay natural gas consumers on the right bank of the Dniester for the costs associated with gas supplies in October and November 2021”, and here it is also clear that the Moldovan side is understood as the government of Moldova, and not Moldovagaz. Veaceslav Negruta noted that attempts by Gazprom to discuss the interpretation of the paragraph on organizing an audit of the debt of Moldovagaz were made not only in February, but also earlier, in January. “But we knew in advance that there is a protocol that clearly states that the audit is being organized by the Moldovan side, and not by Moldovagaz. Accordingly, in accordance with the agreements arising from the protocol (point 5) and on the basis of the Law on Joint Stock Companies, on December 29, 2021, the government decided to conduct an independent audit of the debts of Moldovagaz JSC. The Public Property Agency was authorized to carry out the necessary procedures for the selection and organization of the audit process. Subsequently, an international competition was announced to select an audit company to conduct the independent debt audit. This information, as well as the position regarding the “Moldovan side”, was brought to the attention of the majority shareholder in advance,” said Veaceslav Negruta. He noted that Gazprom unilaterally convened a meeting of the Supervisory Board on February 2 to approve the documentation for the organization of the debt audit, contrary to the provisions of clause 5 of the protocol, which provides for the Board to approve only the final audit report, and the “Moldovan side” is responsible for the audit process. Veaceslav Negruta emphasized that in order to avoid contradictions with the regulatory framework, the Moldovan government decided that its representatives in Moldovagaz would not be present at the meeting of the Supervisory Board on February 2 in order to prevent the quorum required by Gazprom for making such decisions. Veaceslav Negruta drew attention to the fact that, logically, the independent audit of Moldovagaz's debt to Gazprom cannot be carried out either by the debtor company itself, or by Gazprom, which is its majority shareholder and controls the enterprise, and only the government, as a minority shareholder of the company, may conduct such an independent debt audit. Veacheslav Negruta expressed the opinion that Gazprom itself should be interested in an independent debt audit in order to know the current state of affairs, the truth about the amount of debt, and the quality of the company's management. He expressed hope that the Moldovagaz company would provide all the necessary information and documents for the audit for a transparent and independent, correct audit of the debt. Veaceslav Negruta also believes that, if there is goodwill, Gazprom and the Moldovan government can agree to extend the previously set deadline of May 1, 2022 for presenting the results of the independent audit of Moldovagaz's debt to Gazprom and Factoring-Finance. Such a decision may be made by the parties, taking into account delays in the process of selecting the independent debt audit company. // 10.02.2022 - InfoMarket.
