Almost 200 million euros – this is how lavishly Gazprom endowed the “Climate Foundation” (Schwerin Foundation for Climate and Environmental Protection Mecklenburg-Vorpommern)
Almost 200 million euros – this is how lavishly Gazprom endowed the “Climate Foundation” (Schwerin Foundation for Climate and Environmental Protection Mecklenburg-Vorpommern)
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translation:
Almost 200 million euros – this is how lavishly Gazprom endowed the “Climate Foundation”
Once again, the so-called Climate Foundation had to disclose sensitive key data on its business operations. They show how generous the Kremlin corporation Gazprom was in using the foundation to complete the Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea pipeline.
More and more details are coming to light about the financial dependence of the Schwerin-based Stiftung Klima- und Umweltschutz MV on the Russian state-owned company Gazprom. The foundation, which was set up by the state government at the beginning of last year, had set up an “economic business operation” specifically to complete the controversial Baltic Sea pipeline. This business operation received a total of 192 million euros from the Gazprom subsidiary Nord Stream 2 AG. The foundation has now informed WELT AM SONNTAG of the sum. Previously, it had been obliged to provide such information several times by the Schwerin Regional Court.
According to the foundation, the transfer of the 192 million euros extended from February to November 2021, with Nord Stream 2 transferring around 87 million euros to Schwerin in May 2021 alone. The funds benefited 80 service providers, who were awarded 119 contracts with a volume of 165 million euros by the “economic business operation”. Twenty-two of these contracts were worth one million euros or more.
Because of the foundation construct, Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig has been facing serious accusations for months. She had pushed the structure through politically against the resistance of some members of the federal government at the time. Critics accuse the SPD politician of allowing her cabinet to be bought by the Russian state so that it could circumvent US sanctions imposed against the pipeline construction. For this, Schwesig used the label climate protection as a fig leaf.
The data on the “economic business operations” of the Climate Foundation that have now been submitted to the editorial office show that an unusually large amount of money has flowed. This business, the independent and strictly secretive part of the foundation, received commissions of 15 million euros from the Gazprom subsidiary. Measured against profits customary in the industry, this amounts to a considerable return on sales. If it serves the Kremlin, which wanted to complete the pipeline construction at all costs, there are obviously no savings.
(translated with deepl)
[As Minna Ålander writes](https://twitter.com/minna_alander/status/1561634385572597760),
>an “environmental foundation” founded by Minister President of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Manuela Schwesig (SPD), received €192 million from Gazprom via their subsidiary NordStream 2 AG, in Feb-Nov 2021
>
>This information is from the documents of the environmental foundation itself, which it was ordered to release. Schwesig tried earlier to claim that important documents about the establishment of the foundation were “lost”.
>
>**Instead of resigning over the mounting scandal, Schwesig was re-elected by 88,5% support as party leader of SPD Mecklenburg-Vorpommern on Saturday.**
Looking forward to Putin subsidizing a new outfit called “Global Anti-War Peace Project” whose entire mission is to apologize for his war crimes and say that the best way to achieve peace is to give the aggressor everything they want and then they might not kill any more people.
Could be chaired by Gerhard Schröder and Jeremy Corbyn.