Gazprom will appeal the decision of the Polish regulator on the fine in court

The Russian company Gazprom will appeal in court the decision of the Polish antimonopoly regulator UOKiK to impose a fine of $57 million, Angi reports.

UOKiK the day before announced the imposition of a fine on the gas company due to non-cooperation in the Nord Stream 2 case.

“After the study of the official decision of UOKiK is completed, PJSC Gazprom will take measures to protect its interests, including appealing the decision in court, where UOKiK will need to prove the validity of its position. In the case of a court appeal against the fine, it will not be subject to collection until the entry into force of the relevant court decision," said Gazprom.

The company said that the information requested by the Polish antimonopoly regulator from Gazprom had no connection with the subject of the antimonopoly investigation on Nord Stream 2.

"It is important to note that the information requested by the Polish Antimonopoly Office had no connection with the subject of the antimonopoly investigation. Earlier, PJSC Gazprom in its response asked UOKiK to provide a justification for the legitimacy of the request for relevant information, but it did not receive such justification,” the company emphasized.

The Polish antimonopoly regulator UOKiK on Monday announced a $57 million fine to Gazprom for not cooperating in the Nord Stream 2 case. This is the maximum sanction provided by the legislation of the country for failure to provide information.

In May last year, UOKiK filed charges against Gazprom and five partners in the Nord Stream 2 project – OMV, Wintershall, Shell, Uniper and Engie – of violating Polish antimonopoly laws over financing the pipeline construction.

In November, the regulator fined the French Engie in the amount of PLN 172 million (about $45 million) for failure to provide information regarding the case. Earlier this year, UOKiK also contacted Gazprom with a request to provide new information as part of an investigation into Nord Stream 2, and the Russian company, in response, asked to substantiate such a request.