After an initial complaint was dismissed, two associations filed a new one on Wednesday, seeking the appointment of an investigating judge to investigate TotalEnergies, which they accuse of complicity in war crimes in Russia.
The NGOs Darwin Climax Coalition, based in Bordeaux, and Razom We Stand, a Ukrainian organization that calls for an embargo on imports of fossil fuels from Russia, have filed a complaint with the crimes against humanity division of the Paris judicial court on Wednesday, according to a source close to the case. This procedure makes it possible to obtain the appointment of an investigating judge almost automatically.
In this document consulted by AFP, the two plaintiffs accuse the French oil group of having continued to exploit a deposit in Russia after the outbreak of war in Ukraine and allowed the manufacture of fuel used by Russian aircraft in the conflict. The National Anti-Terrorist Prosecutor’s Office (Pnat), which has jurisdiction in this matter, had closed their first complaint on January 10 for insufficiently characterized offenses, “after a thorough legal and factual analysis of all the elements transmitted by the complainants and, on its own initiative, by TotalEnergies“. The Pnat had then assured that it had “never hesitated to open investigations against legal persons when there were sufficient elements”.
The plaintiffs then filed an appeal with the public prosecutor of the Paris Court of Appeal, which was also dismissed on February 27 “after studying the case”. “The refusal of justice to investigate cannot be explained in view of the very heavy bundle of evidence we have and the very detailed nature of the complaint,” their lawyers, William Bourdon, Vincent Brengarth and Henri Thulliez, said Thursday. “The judicial information will allow to shed light on the actions, in a context of rooting the Russian invasion and everything that feeds it, directly or indirectly, “add the councils. –
Unfounded” accusations
The plaintiffs point out that TotalEnergies held 49% of the Terneftegaz joint venture, which operates the Termokarstovoye field in Russia’s far north, until September 2022. The remaining 51% was held by Novatek, Russia’s second largest gas company, in which TotalEnergies has a 19.4% stake.
However, according to Le Monde, the Termokarstovoye field supplied gas condensate to a refinery which then shipped it to fuel Russian aircraft engaged in the conflict in Ukraine, at least until July. The French energy giant assured at the time that it did not produce “kerosene for the Russian army”, then later stated that it had reached an agreement in July to sell its 49% stake in Terneftegaz to Novatek, a sale that was finalized in September.
“TotalEnergies would like to see an end to this unfounded controversy, which is damaging to the company’s reputation,” said the group in response on Thursday, which “has decided to take all legal action to put an end to it” and “will see it through. “We also reiterate that the accusations of “complicity in a war crime” are outrageous and defamatory. Words have meaning and such statements are unacceptable,” the company added. “These accusations against our company, which conducts its operations in strict compliance with EU policy and applicable European sanctions measures, are particularly serious and unfounded in light of the explanations we have provided,” she insisted.
Before the conflict in Ukraine, TotalEnergies was one of the most exposed French groups in Russia in terms of energy, where it produced 16.6% of its hydrocarbons and 30% for gas alone. He had announced at the end of April 2022 a “start of withdrawal”. In total, over the year 2022, TotalEnergies has written down $15 billion (‘13.8 billion) worth of Russian assets, selling off its activities in the Kharyaga oil field and the Termokarstovoye gas field, which are the subject of this complaint.
The most recent session was the sale of a major automotive and industrial lubricants plant in mid-March. The only major exception is TotalEnergies, which is currently continuing its activities in the Yamal gas field, a colossal project that is not covered by the European sanctions against Moscow.
