Microsoft Suspends Services to Russia-Backed Nayara, Firm Turns to India's Rediff

Microsoft has stopped giving services to Indian oil refiner Nayara Energy, the company said in a statement, while emphasizing on the challenges faced by the company. Following, Microsoft’s withdrawal of services, the Indian oil refinery has turned to domestic firm Rediff.com.

The Rosneft-backed company has been reeling under challenges since been hit by European Union sanctions. A lawsuit has been filed by the firm in the Delhi High Court against Microsoft for “abrupt and unilateral suspension of critical services.”

As per Nayara’s statement, “This decision, based solely on Microsoft’s unilateral interpretation of recent European Union sanctions, sets a dangerous precedent for corporate overreach and raises serious concerns regarding its implications on India’s energy ecosystem.”

Sources told Reuters Microsoft halted services for Nayara since last Tuesday and that had impacted the employees' Outlook email and Teams messaging accounts.

The Rediff.com service can help facilitate communications among Nayara employees but it cannot retrieve data and previous emails stored on Microsoft's cloud. Mumbai-based Rediff provides online consumer services and cloud-based email services for businesses.

According to a Bloomberg report, the company which is the second-largest private oil refiner in the country is having trouble running its 400,000-barrel-per-day refinery on the country’s west coast. Following the EU sanctions that claimed that its profits support Russia’s war in Ukraine, shipowners and oil traders have been staying away from the company. The Russian oil giant Rosneft owns 49.13% of Nayara.

As per the statement, Microsoft is restricting Nayara’s “access to its own data, proprietary tools, and products — despite these being acquired under fully paid-up licenses.”

The company further stated that it sued Microsoft to avoid any disruption in serving its customers and partners. There’s no legal reason under US or Indian law for Microsoft to stop its services, since Microsoft is based in the US, they also stated.

Nayara has additionally claimed that all its operations are compliant with Indian laws and regulations and the company is in regular communication with Indian authorities to ensure transparency and accountability.