Rio Tinto takes full control of Queensland alumina refinery after Russian oligarchs sanctioned

theguardian.com:

Rio Tinto has taken full control of an alumina refinery in which oligarchs Oleg Deripaska and Viktor Vekselberg hold stakes after the Australian government slapped sanctions on the pair and banned the export of bauxite products to Russia.

The oligarchs have an interest in Queensland Alumina Limited through shareholdings in En+ Group, a London-listed resources company which owns the second-largest aluminium producer in the world, Rusal.

Rusal owns 20% of QAL and Rio Tinto owns the remainder.

In a statement, Rio Tinto said: “As a result of the Australian government’s sanction measures, Rio Tinto has taken on 100% of the capacity and governance of Queensland Alumina Limited (QAL) until further notice.”

“Our focus remains on ensuring the continued safe operation of QAL, as a significant employer and contributor to the local Gladstone and Queensland economies,” the company said.

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In a statement released last month, En+ said Deripaska “cannot receive any type of financial benefit from his minority holding in En+, Rusal or any part of the group and is completely blocked from receiving dividends” as the result of a 2019 deal with US authorities under which the companies were released from sanctions and the oligarch reduced his shareholding to 45%.

“According to public sources, Mr Vekselberg is indirectly a minority beneficiary,” Rusal’s spokesperson said. “He does not have any influence on Rusal’s operations.”

Activists who have poured pressure on Australian companies to sever ties with Russian oligarchs after the invasion of Ukraine welcomed the move.

However, Dan Gocher, from the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility, said that “until Rio