Gazprom a three-day period where gas supplies to Ukraine were halved, Gazprom agreed to supply Ukraine with gas for the rest of the year. The contract removed intermediary companies. On 1 April 2014, Gazprom increased the gas price charged to Ukraine from $268.50 to $385.50 (£231.00) per 1,000 cubic metres. Ukraine's unpaid gas bills to Russia stood at $1.7bn (£1.02bn). On 30 October 2014, Russia agreed to resume gas supplies to Ukraine over the winter in a deal brokered by the European Union. Gazprom is a vertically integrated company, one which owns its supply and distribution activities. Gazprom owns all its
Central Energy Italian Gas Holding having a personal interest in the contract. Robert Nowikovsky, an Austrian lawyer linked to Russian operations, was one of the company's directors. The 2008 article "Berlusconi, Centrex, Hexagon 1 and 2 and Gazprom" suggested: Central Energy Company Inc Central Energy Italian Gas Holding Central Energy Italian Inc is a gas distribution and trade company. It is a part of the Central Energy ], a company related to Gazprom. A deal between Italian Eni and Gazprom picked CEI as a partner delivering gas to Italy. Investigations by members of the Italian parliament revealed that Bruno Mentasti-Granelli, who is known as a