Joint-stock company “Intelligence” from St. Petersburg became the owner of 11.3 percent of the shares of Naftna industrija Srbije (NIS), thus crossing the threshold of a significant participation in one of the largest domestic energy companies.
According to the official document that “Nedeljnik” had access to, the transaction took place on September 19, 2025.
In the “Notice of Significant Participation” signed by authorized representative Filip Bolgov, it is stated that the Russian firm “Intelligence” acquired exactly 18,433,297 shares, which represents 11.3 percent of the company’s shares.
Before this change, the firm did not own a single share of NIS, while an identical 11.3 percent of the capital was owned by Russia’s Gazprom.
Gazprom is a Russian state-owned company and one of the world’s largest producers and exporters of natural gas, while Gazprom Neft is its subsidiary in charge of crude oil operations.
In the ownership structure of NIS, the largest shareholder is currently Gazprom Neft with 44.85 percent, followed by the State of Serbia with 29.87 percent, while the third largest shareholder is “newcomer” Intelligence with 11.3 percent. Gazprom is no longer a shareholder.
However, the most interesting detail of the transaction lies in its nature, because the change of ownership took place “based on the Agreement on the assignment/transfer of the shares of the joint stock company without compensation”.
This practically means that the package of shares, whose market value would be several million, was transferred for free.
The document reveals that the Russian joint-stock company is registered in Saint Petersburg, at the address Dobrolyubova 16, and Vsevold Stanislavovich Vorobev is listed as the responsible person.
This change in ownership occurs at the moment when NIS requests for the seventh time a postponement of the application of US sanctions.
Namely, the key to the smooth functioning of the company lies in special licenses issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) at the United States Treasury Department.
The full implementation of the sanctions has been delayed as many as six times so far, precisely thanks to these temporary permits that allowed the continuation of operational activities.
As the current license expires on September 26, the company, according to the latest information, submitted a new request on September 18 in order to continue to ensure uninterrupted operations.
In parallel with these short-term measures, NIS is also fighting a long-term legal battle, since on March 14 it sent an official request to be removed from the so-called SDN list (Specially Designated Nationals).
Let us recall that the director of “Srbijagas”, Dušan Bajatović, recently confirmed that “there is a desire for Serbia to buy NIS, but that the Russian side is currently not willing to sell the company”.
Even if that obstacle is overcome, the key issue remains the financial power of the state.
Serbianism 