Matter of historical debt for Russian gas can only be resolved by Moldovagas supervisory board - CEO

CHISINAU. Dec 8 (Interfax) - The issue of Moldovagaz's historical debt to Gazprom can be decided only by Moldovagaz's supervisory board, chairman of the board Vadim Ceban told the Vocea Basarabiei (Voice of Bessarabia) TV channel on Friday.

"The historical debt exists, it totals $709 million. Nothing has changed in Moldovagaz's reports in which it is indicated. At the moment, the company does not have the funds to be able to repay this debt. The Supervisory Board of Moldovagaz JSC is the only platform on which the issue of the company's historical debt to Gazprom can be resolved," Ceban said.

According to him, the status quo has been maintained in the situation regarding the historical debt in the supervisory board, because the representatives of the Russian company did not vote for the approval of the debt audit report.

"In the matter of historical debt repayment, Gazprom should look at the debts of debtors that exist before Moldovagaz. But they are still not enough to repay the full amount. Various options can be considered, including the insolvency of the company. It is possible to sell the company's office in order to pay off this debt with the proceeds, but they will not be enough either," Ceban said.

He said that all Moldovagaz assets, including the building on Pushkin Street in the center of Chisinau, are valued at 12 billion lei [$670 million at the current exchange rate].

At the same time, Ceban noted that all decisions of the supervisory board are made by consensus. "If representatives of Gazprom or the Moldovan government oppose, there is no consensus and no decision can be made," he concluded.

As reported, in 2021, Moldovan authorities agreed with Gazprom to audit Chisinau's historical gas debt. Consultants chosen by Moldova without coordination with Gazprom questioned $709 million of the debt, while the country's officials expressed their willingness to pay only $9 million.