EU antitrust investigators have raided the German offices of Russia's state-owned energy giant Gazprom on suspicion that it had illegally pushed up prices in Europe, according to several news reports.
The European Commission said its teams carried out unannounced inspections on March 29 "at the premises of several companies in Germany active in the supply, transmission, and storage of natural gas."
One of the main targets of the operation was Gazprom, which is accused of sparking an energy crunch in the European Union, the AFP news agency quoted two sources familiar with the matter as saying on March 31.
Bloomberg reported that officials raided offices of firms that included Gazprom Germania GmbH and Gazprom's Wingas GmbH, which supply about 20 percent of the German market.
The European Commission is looking into allegations that Gazprom put undue pressure on its European clients by limiting supply, causing prices to jump.
Ukraine in December filed a complaint to the EU against Gazprom, accusing it of creating "an artificial deficit of gas" to raise prices.
Gazprom is providing an estimated 40 percent of the EU's gas supply, mainly to Germany, Italy, and a few Eastern European countries.
After Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, Kyiv urged the 27-member bloc to retaliate by cutting off the Russian supply.
