A gravity platform for the production of liquefied gas at the center for the construction of large-tonnage offshore structures of Novatek-Murmansk company in the village of Belokamenka in the Murmansk region of Russia on July 20. File Photo by Alexey Babushkin/EPA-EFE/SPUTNIK
Sept. 22 (UPI) — The former CFO of Novatek, a Russian natural gas company, has been sentenced to over seven years in prison for tax offenses.
In a news release, the Justice Department announced that Mark Anthony Gyetvay, who resides in Naples, Fla., will also be subject to three years of supervised release, a $350,000 fine, and approximately $4 million in restitution to the United States.
The development coincides with the United States imposing new sanctions on Novatek subsidiaries and suppliers due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
Gyetvay was found guilty in March of failing to file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR), providing a false statement to the IRS, and willfully failing to file tax returns.
Prosecutors revealed that prior to his executive role in the Russian gas giant, Gyetvay worked as a certified public accountant in the United States and Russia. In 2005, he opened two accounts at a Swiss bank holding assets exceeding $93 million at one point.
“Over several years, Gyetvay took actions to conceal his ownership and control of these funds, including removing himself from the accounts and designating his then-wife, a Russian citizen, as the beneficial owner,” according to prosecutors.
A recent announcement by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has added to the pressure on Novatek. Arctic LNG 2, one of Novatek’s projects, is specifically targeted by these sanctions, potentially complicating Russia’s plans for expanding its liquefied natural gas capabilities.
The sanctions also affect Novatek’s transshipment terminals for liquefied natural gas in Murmansk and Kamchatka. Arctic Transshipment, a Novatek subsidiary, had planned to launch the Kamchatka terminal later this year, as reported by Interfax.
Back in 2018, UPI reported on Novatek’s shipment of its first batch of liquefied natural gas to China, utilizing the Northern Sea Route. This shipping lane within Russia’s economic zone runs along the Arctic coast to the Bering Strait. The shipment marked the initial step in transporting LNG from Novatek’s Yamal project to China through this route.
During a visit to the Murmansk region in July, Russian President Vladimir Putin paid a visit to Novatek’s center for the construction of gas-liquefying lines for the Arctic LNG-2 project.
Environmental concerns have been raised regarding the development of the Arctic north of Russia, as it reportedly poses risks to the local environment due to the presence of scrap materials and oil residue.
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