The proposal, reported by RBC citing two sources familiar with its contents, would apply decree No. 604, signed by Vladimir Putin on August 24. The decree permits temporary management of critical infrastructure facilities whose owners do not protect them from security threats, including attacks by Ukrainian drones. Under the decree, the temporary manager would be Rosimushchestvo, the federal property agency, or "another person" designated by the government.
According to one of the sources, the ministry justified the initiative by the need to ensure the safety of oil product storage facilities.
No final decision has been made. Alongside external management, the transfer of Trassa's assets to one of the vertically integrated oil companies is also under discussion, Novaya Gazeta Europe writes.
EuroTrans ranks second in sales among independent gas station operators in Moscow and the Moscow region. The company owns 57 Trassa filling complexes, an oil depot and a fleet of fuel trucks. The Trassa network includes 56 filling stations in Moscow and the Moscow region, Meduza specifies.
Igor Martyshov, chairman of EuroTrans's board of directors, was arrested in early September in a case involving embezzlement during fuel supplies for the Moscow region's Interior Ministry directorate. Three other top managers of the company are also in custody. According to investigators, fuel from the Moscow region police's reserves may have been diverted to private gas stations that were left without gasoline amid Ukrainian strikes on refineries.
The Energy Ministry sent its letter before the detention of EuroTrans's co-owners and top managers, Novaya Gazeta Europe notes. The company is also experiencing financial difficulties: on September 7, the Moscow Exchange recorded a default on all of its exchange-traded bonds. EuroTrans's public debt stands at 36.1 billion rubles.
The decree does not set a time limit for temporary management, and assets can be returned to their owner by government decision. First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov has previously said this does not amount to nationalization. Experts interviewed by Novaya Gazeta Europe warned that the decree creates another way to strip owners of control over their businesses.