{"id":2761,"date":"2020-12-17T20:37:51","date_gmt":"2020-12-17T20:37:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiofree.org\/?p=140591"},"modified":"2020-12-17T20:37:51","modified_gmt":"2020-12-17T20:37:51","slug":"russian-billionaire-continues-to-control-companies-in-violation-of-sanctions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2020\/12\/17\/russian-billionaire-continues-to-control-companies-in-violation-of-sanctions\/","title":{"rendered":"Russian Billionaire ‘Continues To Control Companies’ In Violation Of Sanctions"},"content":{"rendered":"
European officials have concluded that Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska continues to control aluminum producer Rusal in violation of a U.S. sanctions agreement, Bloomberg News reported, citing unidentified officials.<\/p>\n
The Europeans earlier this year sent U.S. officials their conclusion that Deripaska still maintains day-to-day influence over the operations of Rusal, one of the world\u2019s largest aluminum producers, and its parent company EN+ Group, the news agency said on December 17.<\/p>\n
U.S. officials have confirmed receiving the European report.<\/p>\n
The United States lifted sanctions on Rusal and EN+ after Deripaska agreed in late 2018 to cut his stakes below 50 percent and relinquish operational control.<\/p>\n
But the billionaire continued to use \u201ccompany resources and employees\u201d for his own business pursuits as well as to advance the Kremlin\u2019s political agenda, Bloomberg reported, citing the Europeans.<\/p>\n
Lawyers for Deripaska, who remains under personal U.S. sanctions, denied the European officials\u2019 allegations.<\/p>\n
Lawyers for EN+ also rejected the report. EN+ said its board continues to have \u201cfull confidence in the group\u2019s robust compliance procedures.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Bloomberg article caused a spike in aluminum prices on December 17 amid concerns the U.S. could sanction Rusal again.<\/p>\n
The United States sanctioned Deripaska and six other Russian tycoons in 2018 for supporting Russia\u2019s \u201cmalign activity around the globe,\u201d including Kremlin aggression against Ukraine.<\/p>\n
Deripaska, 52, is one of Russia’s richest moguls, with a net worth estimated by Forbes at more than $4 billion.<\/p>\n