The company behind Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline has filed for bankruptcy, dealing a massive blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Swiss company, Nord Stream 2 AG, made the decision to file for bankruptcy Tuesday after crushing sanctions were imposed by the West.
The firm also fired over 100 workers.
Other Russian companies in the region could be the next dominoes to fall as Swiss lawmakers fear this could just be the beginning.
Switzerland joined Europe and America in imposing sanctions on Russia as the world reacts in horror to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Swiss official, Zug economics director Silvia Thalmann-Gut, said: “We were informed today that this company cannot be continued.
“It is therefore not a case of mass redundancies, but the company had to deposit the balance sheet.
“The employees have received the notice of termination.
“We are now informing them of their rights and obligations.
“The head of the Office for Economics and Labor was on site today and was informed in detail about the situation.
“We are currently working on a layout for this. If a company is affected by these sanctions, it will quickly show up in liquidity.
“It no longer has access to the financial means to pay wages and bills.
“The company has to lay people off or even file for bankruptcy.
“It is difficult to say what the consequences will be.
“We analyze how exactly the Zug companies are intertwined with Russia.
“Nord Stream became insolvent because of last week’s US sanctions.
“Those from Switzerland have not yet played a role. So I cannot rule out that other companies will be affected.
“It will undoubtedly have an impact,” she said.
“These are very powerful companies that are now affected.”
NEW: Operator of Nord Stream 2 files for bankruptcy and fires all employeeshttps://t.co/1obuHvHkG9
— Axios (@axios) March 1, 2022
The Swiss-based operator behind the Nord Stream 2 pipeline has filed for bankruptcy and fired all 106 employees, a local official said. https://t.co/TjHqZOxgEj
— Newsmax (@newsmax) March 1, 2022
Nord Stream 2 AG is a subsidiary of Gazprom, which managed the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, an ambitious natural gas pipeline that travels from Russia to Germany through the Baltic Sea.
If operational, the pipeline would enable Russia to sell natural gas to Germany and other Western European nations without having to go through Ukraine like it does with the Yamal–Europe pipeline .
The $11 billion pipeline was finished last September but needed to receive its final certification.
Germany had long resisted pressure from the U.S. to nix the project because it is very dependent on natural gas.
Many U.S. foreign policy experts and officials, including President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump , expressed concerns the pipeline would increase Europe’s energy dependence on Russia.
