Petrolinvest Tries to Calm Investors
Petrolinvest has tried to provide assurances to its investors that the Polish shale gas concessions scandal will not significantly impact the company’s development plans.
In the answering letter to the Stowarzyszenie Inwestorow Indywidualnych (Individual Shareholders Association), the company tried to ease investors` concerns. Petrolinvest asserted that there was no risk in its subsidiaries losing concessions granted for shale gas exploration in Poland.
“According to our knowledge, the charges leveled against the employees of the subsidiary do not refer to exerting formal pressure to obtain an administrative decision.” – the letter states – “Therefore the Company’s legal advisers are of the opinion that the administrative decision on granting the concession is not at risk of being challenged.”
Last month, three individuals working for the subsidiaries of Petrolinvest were arrested and later released on bail in connection with the alleged corruption concerning the concession awarding process.
The head of the Department of Geology and Geological Concessions and two other officials responsible for concessions awarding at the Ministry of Environment were also detained.
Polish television station tvn reported that an advisor was used as an intermediary, which ordered preparation of documents needed to obtain concessions. According to this report, documents were prepared after hours, by the same officials of the Ministry of Environment, who were later reviewing and approving applications.
According to the main shareholder of Petrolinvest, Ryszard Krauze, this practice although "unwise and unethical,” was not illegal. “You cannot charge anyone with corruption, if they sign a contract, receive money with their bank accounts and pay taxes,” Krauze was cited by the Polish media as saying.
The Individual Shareholders Association asked also whether accusations concern already granted or pending licenses. Besides it posed a number of questions concerning acquisition of the stake in Eco Energy 2010, which owns four shale gas exploration licenses in Poland, valuation of licenses, planned offerings and the ways of spending funds raised through this capital increase.
In the opinion of the Association, the answers given in the letter from Petrolinvest are general and unsatisfactory.