You're reading: Ukrainian parliament sets up investigatory commission to probe into RosUkrEnergo’s activities

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has set up a temporary investigatory commission to conduct an inquiry into the Stockholm Arbitration Tribunal's ruling dated June 8, the allegations of corrupt activities against the Swiss-registered gas trader RosUkrEnergo AG, the involvement of public officials into this case, and the arrest of former chief of the State Customs Service Anatoliy Makarenko.

This decision was supported by 238 out of 433 lawmakers at parliament’s meeting on Thursday.

Ukraine’s opposition was pressing for setting up this commission.

The commission dealing with RosUkrEnergo will be led by Roman Zvarych, a member of the Our Ukraine-People’s Self-Defense Union parliamentary faction, and Anatoly Kinakh of the Party of Regions will be his deputy. The commission will include members of all parliamentary groups.

The commission will work for three months and will have to submit a report no later than the last day of its mandate.

It was reported earlier that the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce obliged Naftogaz Ukrainy to return 11 billion cubic meters of gas to RosUkrEnergo and pay it a fine in commodity form in an amount of 1.1 billion cubic meters of gas in line with a contract.

Security Service chief Valery Khoroshkovsky announced the opening of a criminal case into the infliction of damage on Ukraine based on the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce’s decision. Media have reported that investigators imposed travel restrictions on Ihor Didenko, Naftogaz Ukrainy deputy head. State Customs Service ex-chief Makarenko has been arrested for two months.

RosUkrEnergo was set up by Gazprom and Centragas Holding AG on a parity basis in summer 2004. Centragas Holding AG belongs to Ukrainian businessmen Dmytro Firtash (90%) and Ivan Fursin (10%). RosUkrEnergo held a monopoly over supplies of natural gas to Ukraine in 2006-2008.