Rusal CEO, board members quit in quest for U.S.
sanctions relief
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[May 24, 2018]
By Donny Kwok and Andrew Osborn
HONG KONG/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's
largest aluminum producer, United Company Rusal Plc <0486.HK>, said on
Thursday that its chief executive and seven board members had quit, part
of a strategy it hopes may persuade the United States to lift crippling
sanctions on it.
The United States announced sanctions on Rusal on April 6, preventing
customers with U.S. exposure from continuing to buy Rusal's metal and
sending aluminum prices to their highest in almost seven years amid
fears of a supply shortage.
Washington said the sanctions, which struck at allies of Russian
President Vladimir Putin, were designed to punish Moscow for its alleged
meddling in the 2016 U.S. election, something Russia denies, and other
"malign activity."

The U.S. Treasury Department said last month it would consider lifting
the sanctions on Rusal if its major shareholder, Russian tycoon Oleg
Deripaska, ceded control of the company and sources close to the firm
have told Reuters it plans to appoint an independent board that will in
turn install a new management team to try to secure sanctions relief.
In a statement on Thursday, Rusal said it had been "in continuous
discussions with various authorities" to try to get sanctions relief and
was announcing a raft of board changes, as well as the resignation of
its CEO.
Alexandra Bouriko, who took over as CEO in March, had resigned with
effect from May 23, it said, and would be replaced by Evgeny Nikitin as
acting CEO until such time as the board appointed a new permanent CEO.
DEBT WARNING
Executive directors Vladislav Soloviev and Siegfried Wolf, and
non-executive directors Maxim Sokov, Dmitry Afanasiev, Gulzhan
Moldazhanova, Olga Mashkovskaya and Ekaterina Nikitina had also tendered
their resignation as directors with effect from June 28, it said in a
filing to the Hong Kong bourse.
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The company logo of United Company RUSAL is displayed during a news
conference in Hong Kong January 11, 2010. REUTERS/Bobby Yip

The U.S. Treasury Department has given U.S. customers of the company until Oct.
23 to wind down business with Rusal.
In a separate statement to the bourse, Rusal said it was of the opinion that
international financial institutions were likely to stop dealing with the group
unless the U.S. sanctions were lifted or the company was granted a new licence
by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
"Opportunities to provide financing to the group on commercially reasonable
terms will be very limited," it said. "The company may not be able to maintain
its operating performance at a certain level required to service and repay its
indebtedness and that may result in current creditors accelerating repayment."
Rusal resumed shipping aluminum to some customers last week following an
extension of the deadline for companies to wind down contracts under the U.S.
sanctions, sources told Reuters. Rusal declined to comment.
Rusal's controlling shareholder, En+, said on May 18 that Deripaska had resigned
from its board of directors.
(Editing by Edmund Blair)
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