Rusal's lawsuit has been paused until mid-July pending an application by Potanin and Whiteleave's lawyers Seladore Legal to Britain's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation for a licence to represent them, the court order states. (Reporting by Sam Tobin and Clara Denina; editing by Barbara Lewis)
By Sam Tobin and Clara Denina
LONDON, March 23 (Reuters) - Aluminium giant Rusal plans to bring further lawsuit in London against
Vladimir Potanin, CEO of Nornickel , court documents
show, marking the latest flare-up in relations between two of
Russia's biggest metal companies.
Rusal wishes to "bring certain further claims" against
Potanin and his affiliate Whiteleave Holdings Ltd that are not
covered by a lawsuit filed in London's High Court on Oct. 21,
according to a court order dated March 21 and seen by Reuters.
Rusal was not immediately available for comment, but
previously said its legal action was to protect the interests of
Nornickel's shareholders. Potanin holds a 36% stake, while Rusal
holds 26%.
Potanin and Nornickel did not immediately respond to a
request for comment.
Two of Russia's most powerful businessmen, their dispute
dates back to 2008, when Rusal bought its stake in Nornickel and
Potanin opposed attempts by Deripaska to merge the two
companies.
The dispute that led to the October lawsuit, and Rusal's
planned further claims, centres on an agreement brokered by
Moscow in 2012 between Nornickel's two largest shareholders,
Potanin and Rusal, which protected Nornickel's dividend payouts.
Rusal was at the time controlled by Oleg Deripaska.
Disputes over dividends have been the main reason for
on-and-off rows between shareholders at Nornickel and Rusal. One
of the parties to the 2012 deal is billionaire Roman Abramovich,
who helped to cool the dispute a decade ago.
The deal, which was due to expire at the end of 2022,
resolved a disagreement over how much profit should be returned
to investors and how much should be invested in Nornickel.
Rusal alleges Potanin and Whiteleave procured the transfer
of "crucial subsidiaries" out of Nornickel's corporate group
"with the sole or main purpose of diverting value away from the
(Nornickel) Group, as part of a wider strategy of entrenching
(Whiteleave and Potanin's) control", according to a summary of
the lawsuit dated Oct. 21.
Nornickel has not been directly targeted by Western
sanctions, although Britain and the U.S. have placed sanctions
on Potanin.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.