Kyiv's Pechersky district court has arrested seven compressor stations managed by Karpatygaz LLC under the joint operation agreement signed with state-run company Ukrgazvydobuvannia: Khrystyschenska, Yuliyevska (both based in Kharkiv region), Skhidno-Poltavska, Rozpashnivska and Abazivska (all three in Poltava region), Letnianska and Svydnytska (both in Lviv region).

According to a court ruling dated November 18, 2016, it was issued under a request of investigator of the major investigations department of Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) Y.Danych.

In addition, three compressor stations that would be built have been also arrested: Chervonodonetska (Kharkiv region), Mashevska and Chutovska (both in Poltava region) and Bytkiv-Babchynska (Ivano-Frankivsk region).

"The pretrial investigation has established that in the period from February 25, 2011 until July 1, 2016 officials of Ukrgazvydobuvannia acting under collusion with managers from Karpatygaz LLC and abusing power produced 2.93 billion cubic meters of natural gas, 124,350 tonnes of gas condensate and 78,316 tonnes of oil from Ukrgazvydobuvannia's wells and embezzled it. They caused damage of UAH 626.528 million to the national budget. This is a large amount of money," the court said.

Among other accusations is sale of products in Ukraine via commodity exchange in 2013 reducing VAT liabilities by UAH 20.25 million, tax infringements during the implementation of transactions with contractors in 2011-2013 resulted in non-payment of UAH 330,000 of profit tax and UAH 26.3 million of gas royalty.

PGO said that the joint operation agreement (No. 3) was signed in March 2002. Initially it envisaged operations at well 36 of Letnianske gas field. In February 2011 an addendum was signed. Sweden's Misen Energy АВ was involved in the operations. The Swedish company became owner of Karpatygaz in 2010. Joint operations were expanded later via signing other addendums.

Misen Energy said that Karpatygaz would challenge the court ruling.

The Swedish company and Karpatygaz said that these accusations are groundless. They deny them and ready to confirm the lawfulness of economic operations under joint operation agreement No. 3.