Transneft minority shareholder Alexei Navalny, who has gone to court seeking access to documents relating to the activities of the monopoly oil pipeline operator, is willing to enter into a confidentiality agreement with the company.
"I assure you that I am prepared to sign an agreement, even if it includes a confidentiality agreement between us," Navalny wrote in a letter to Transneft president Nikolai Tokarev.
The letter suggests that a confidentiality agreement be concluded within five days of signing an out-of-court settlement to end Navalny's legal action against Transneft, and the company's board of directors should send copies of its protocols within seven days of receiving payment for their copying.
Navalny told Interfax that "the court suggested that we reach an agreement, and we are willing to do so." The court said other companies had already reached agreements of that type.
Transneft press secretary Igor Dyomin confirmed to Interfax that a letter had been received from Navalny, but declined to comment further. The Moscow Arbitration Court, which is hearing the dispute, has declared a recess in the case until Feb. 14.
Navalny, who has earned a reputation as an opponent to corruption through his blogging activities, holds that Transneft inflated prices for the construction of the East Siberia-Pacific Ocean pipeline by $4 billion.
(MT, Interfax)
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