Gazprom, the world’s largest extractor of gas, is looking to put the plug on supplies to its biggest debtor – its home country.
Around 700 consumers in 57 regions in Russia will have their supplies cut from April 15 as the state giant is looking to retrieve some of the 140billion Rubles (£2.33billion) that it is owed.
The debt, which increased by 37% between November 2013 and March this year, exceeds the outstanding bill held by Ukraine at £1.32billion.
Communal institutions are Gazprom’s biggest debtors, whose liability increased by 60% in the period to £700million, while the public debt increased by 15.4% to £860million.
The company said it will gradually cut its supplies in April and May.