By OFAC Sanctions Attorney of Price Benowitz LLP
It was in April that the Trump administration imposed sanctions against Oleg Deripaska, and the company, Rusal, he had shares in.
The sanctions were meant as a disciplinary action after it was suspected that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election. Now, Deripaska has lowered his stake in the company in hopes that the sanctions will be lifted.
The new plan, known as The Barker Plan, would limit the role Deripaska once had in the company. Rusal is one of the world’s biggest aluminum producers. Since the sanctions were levied, it has caused the cost of aluminum to spike around the world. For Deripaska, it meant losing many of the profits that helped make him a billionaire.
Under the new plan, the company says that it will be appointing two new directors to the board of En+Group. This would prevent Deripaska from using the company to generate profits for his own use. In addition to this, Vladimir Kiryukhin will take place as the group’s new CEO, and Vyacheslav Solomin will take the position of COO. Vladislav Solovyov, who was once the CEO, will now be made president of the company.
“The Trump administration faces the dilemma of lifting the sanctions and facing the disapproval of the Democrats, or leaving the sanctions as they are and continuing to face repercussions from Russia. Leaving the sanctions as they are would also cause the price of aluminum to continue to skyrocket, which affects manufacturers and consumers everywhere,” says the OFAC Sanctions Attorney of Price Benowitz, LLP. “It is certainly not an easy position to be in.”
Rusal states that more than just the sanctions imposed by the United States caused the changes, though. New Russian environmental regulations were recently released. The company says the reorganization is also an effort to comply with these regulations.
While the plan may have the sanctions lifted, Deripaska has already lost half of his net worth since they were first imposed in April. It is unclear whether or not he will still have any ownership in the company after the new plan is put into place.
