A Swiss court has granted a six-month “stay of bankruptcy” to the operating company for the never-opened Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which was built to bring Russian gas to Germany but put on ice shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine in February, ABC News reported. The company's stay was extended from Jan. 10 through July 10 by a regional court in the Swiss canton (state) of Zug, according to a notice published Wednesday in the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce. Nord Stream 2 AG, a subsidiary of Russia’s Gazprom, is based in Zug.

Crypto miner Argo Blockchain said on Wednesday it will sell its mining facility Helios for $65 million and refinance a new asset-backed loan as it seeks to avoid bankruptcy, sending its London-listed shares soaring, Reuters reported. Argo, which earlier this month warned that it might have to file for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection due to insufficient cash, said the deals will allow the company to continue its operations.

The head of Russia's state-controlled airline Aeroflot called on the Russian government to "balance the interests" of Russian and foreign airlines in order to support the domestic aviation sector, in an interview with Russian news site RBC published on Wednesday, Reuters reported. In the interview, Aeroflot CEO Sergei Alexandrovsky said it is "important that the state balances the interests of Russian and international carriers.

ExxonMobil is suing the EU in a bid to force it to scrap the bloc’s new windfall tax on oil groups, arguing Brussels exceeded its legal authority by imposing the levy, the Irish Times reported. The lawsuit is the most significant response yet against the tax from the oil industry, which has been targeted by western governments amid a surge in energy prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The last Belgian locations of the international cash-and-carry store Makro will close their doors forever on Friday, RTL Info reports, the Brussels Times reported. In total, 1,300 employees will lose their jobs. The Makro group has been teetering on the verge of bankruptcy for many months. Following the legal reorganization in June, all of the company’s real estate assets were transferred to German rival Metro. Metro was recently bought out by Dutch retail group Sligro, saving nine out of eleven of the Makro locations and 500 jobs.

The rouble dived around 3% against the dollar on Tuesday, failing to consolidate a recovery from last week's slide as the market comes to terms with the prospect of lower export revenue in the wake of restrictions on Russian oil, Reuters reported. The rouble lost about 8% against the dollar last week and is on course for a hefty monthly decline after an oil embargo and price cap came into force. The finance ministry has said the recent slump was related to recovering imports.

Genesis Global, a gaming operator that has had difficulty in several jurisdictions, has filed for bankruptcy and is shutting down its headquarters in Malta, casino.org reported. Genesis had to battle a $4-million fine in the U.K., a $5-million fine in Belgium, and a $418K fine in Sweden. All were due to the operator’s inability to properly comply with anti-money laundering (AML) rules and other violations. The company shut off 14 sites from the U.K. market, the largest gaming market in Europe, and parted ways with CEO Ariel Reem earlier this month.

The German government sees plans to pay Lufthansa executive board members a bonus for 2021 and 2022, despite the German airline receiving state aid at the time, as in breach of their agreement, said a German government spokesperson last Wednesday, Reuters reported. The bonus cannot be accrued and paid out at a later date, said the spokesperson, who added the government is in talks with Lufthansa.

Johnny Ronan’s property group this month sold its Paris property for €24.5 million to help pay down the group’s debt, the Irish Times reported. Consolidated accounts filed by Ronan’s Ardquade Ltd. also reveal that this year Ronan also advanced a loan to the group that was used to repay “a substantial part” of the group’s junior debt. Nearly a year ago, the group’s senior and junior debt amounted to a combined €194.88 million.