Naftogaz Dishes Out $46m Bonuses
Ukraine’s Naftogaz said May 30 it has awarded a $46.3mn bonus to employees, equivalent to 1% of the $4.56bn gross amount it won in the February 28 Stockholm transit arbitration award against Gazprom.
The net amount due from Gazprom however is some $2.6bn, and the Russian giant has vowed it will contest even that.
Nor will the bonus payment go to all employees. Instead Naftogaz said the $46.3mn will be distributed among 41 staff members at various levels of the company "who made a significant direct or indirect contribution to the successful outcome." Of that, it said income tax payable to the state would exceed $9mn.
The first tranche of $20.7mn is expected to be paid this month, it said, while the rest will be paid within three years dependent on the success of enforcing the net $2.6bn award against Gazprom.
Swiss courts asked to enforce Gazprom award
Naftogaz also confirmed May 30 it has asked the Swiss courts to enforce that $2.6bn award, and said it understands that Swiss authorities already have taken measures against Gazprom's assets there.
“We spent almost four years working hard on this case and we won,” said Naftogaz CEO Andriy Kobolyev: “It is an important milestone in Ukraine’s struggle for its energy independence. If Naftogaz had failed to win the two cases in Stockholm, Gazprom would have claimed a debt of more than a half of Ukraine’s GDP.” Neither his nor any other board member bonuses were disclosed in the company's statement.
Kobolyev's view was backed by Naftogaz's chair since late 2017, Clare Spottiswoode. The former UK gas market regulator said: “Naftogaz’s case against Gazprom was exceptional in terms of both the amount of claims and the outcome. No one has ever achieved such a significant victory over Gazprom in arbitration. Naftogaz team demonstrated high professionalism and commitment.”
Claims and counterclaims in both supply and transit cases between Naftogaz and Gazprom totaled $125bn, making it the largest commercial arbitration process ever.
Naftogaz also said May 18 that the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague May 17 closed four days of oral hearings on the jurisdiction and merits of a case initiated by seven companies of Ukraine's Naftogaz Group against Russia; the second phase of the proceedings is expected in 1Q2019.