After the filing of a first complaint, two associations filed a new one on Wednesday with a view to obtaining the appointment of an investigating judge to investigate TotalEnergies, which they accuse of complicity in war crimes in Russia, which the group vigorously contests. The NGOs Darwin Climax Coalition, based in Bordeaux, and Razom We Stand, a Ukrainian organization which calls for an embargo on imports of fossil fuels from Russia, seized on Wednesday the crimes against humanity division of the Paris judicial court of a complaint with civil action, according to a source familiar with the matter.
A first complaint filed in January
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 planes in the conflict. The National Anti-Terrorist Prosecutor’s Office (Pnat), competent in the matter, had filed their first complaint for an insufficiently characterized offense on January 10, “after an in-depth analysis, both legal and factual, of all the elements transmitted by the complainants and, on their own initiative , by TotalEnergies”.
The Pnat then assured that it had “never hesitated to open investigations targeting legal persons when there were sufficient elements”. The plaintiffs then lodged an appeal with the Attorney General of the Paris Court of Appeal, who was also dismissed on February 27 “after study of the file”. “The refusal of justice to investigate cannot be explained in view of the very heavy body of clues available to us and the very detailed nature of the complaint”, affirm Thursday their lawyers, Mes William Bourdon, Vincent Brengarth and Henri Thulliez . “The judicial information will shed light on the actions, in a context of entrenchment of the Russian invasion and everything that feeds it, directly or indirectly”, add the advice.
“Unfounded” accusations
The plaintiffs recall that TotalEnergies held until September 2022 49% of the Terneftegaz joint venture, which operates the Termokarstovoie field, in the Russian Far North. The remaining 51% was held by Novatek, number 2 in Russian gas, of which TotalEnergies is a 19.4% shareholder. However, according to Le Monde, the Termokarstovoie field supplied gas condensate to a refinery which turned it into fuel then shipped to supply Russian planes engaged in the conflict in Ukraine, at least until July.
The French energy giant had assured at the time that it produced “no kerosene for the Russian army”, then later specified that it had reached an agreement in July to sell its 49% in Terneftegaz to Novatek, sale finalized in September. “TotalEnergies wants an end to this baseless controversy, which damages the reputation of the company”, replied Thursday the group, which “has decided to take all legal action to put an end to it” and “will go to the end” . “We also recall that the accusations of ‘complicity in a war crime’ are outrageous and defamatory. Words have a meaning and such remarks are unacceptable,” added the company.
$13 billion in Russian assets impaired in 2022
“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,” he said. she insists. 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 “beginning of withdrawal”.
In total, over the year 2022, TotalEnergies depreciated 15 billion dollars (13.8 billion euros) in Russian assets, selling in particular its activities in the Kharyaga oil field and the gas field, called into question by this complaint, from Termokarstovoie. Latest session to date: a major automotive and industrial lubricants plant sold in mid-March. The only major exception, TotalEnergies is continuing its activities at this stage in the Yamal gas field, a colossal project which is not targeted by the European sanctions aimed at Moscow.