Employees of Russian state-owned oil and gas companies have been unofficially forbidden to travel abroad, reported independent media outlet Verstka citing sources in Gazprom and Rosneft.
According to an employee in Gazprom's St. Petersburg office, he and his subordinates were “unofficially forbidden” to travel abroad – “even to Turkey.”
The ban also applies to the close relatives of Gazprom employees.
“We were forbidden to travel abroad, [that goes for] any trips. The consequences weren’t detailed. But we’re smart. <...> They told us about the ban several days ago. Many of us have already bought tickets and booked hotels for the New Year's holidays. But it’simpossible to [leave the country] even for medical treatment, not to mention vacations. People are very unhappy,” said another source in Gazprom. According to the source, Gazprom’s security service will monitor the execution of the order.
Rosneft has a similar ban in place: the head of one of the departments of the state-owned company told Verstka that employees have signed a special document that prohibits any trips abroad. According to him, so far the ban applies only to members of senior management.