Page 2 of 2 Hunt the billions - Russia style
By John Helmer
several properties in Russia; and properties in other countries as well; plus
at least one aeroplane to carry him from one to another. A large motorized
yacht has also been confirmed, because it's the one on which the London press
discovered that Deripaska has entertained Lord Peter Mandelson, assorted
Rothschilds, and members of the British Conservative Party.
According to an uncorroborated report from a US investigator, Deripaska owns,
and has borrowed against, at least one substantial office building in downtown
Manhattan.
The search for Deripaska's assets and Rusal's money has been under way for some
time in Nigeria; that is because pending lawsuits in the Nigerian and US courts
over Rusal in connection
with the Nigerian government's privatization of the local aluminum plant
company.
The Rusal-owned asset is known as the Aluminum Smelter Company of Nigeria
(ALSCON). Pursuing Rusal in a federal US court, and then by that court's order,
in the federal Nigerian law courts, is a California-based Nigerian-American
group called Bancorp Financial Investment Group (BFIG), headed by Reuben Jaja.
Rusal has repeatedly denied BFIG's charges and has reported victory in a US
court ruling, rejecting BFIG's claim for US jurisdiction. The text of the US
ruling, however, bears re-reading, because it makes the dismissal of BFIG's
suit temporary and conditional - so long as Rusal agrees to having the Nigerian
federal court adjudicate the case. That condition was reaffirmed by the US
appeals court last November. Rusal had earlier signed its consent on April 25,
2007.
Last week, Jaja told Asia Times Online that the Nigerian authorities had
decided to accelerate their review of what Rusal has done and spent, or
allegedly failed to do and spend, at ALSCON.
To the northwest of Nigeria, in the republic of Guinea, Rusal is also facing
new enquiries from a new government. This is headed by the junior military
officer, Moussa Camara, who took power in a military coup last December,
following the death of the long-serving Guinean President Lansana Conte.
The allegation here against Rusal is that the company underpaid when it took
over the Friguia bauxite and alumina mining and refining complex in 2006 after
the plant was under-valued by the Conte administration.
According to a public statement by Camara, broadcast by the Guinean media on
April 11, "Guinea has to exercise its rights by getting back this factory,
which belongs to it."
Camara claims that Rusal paid $19 million for the assets, while he claims that
experts value it at $257 million. Camara is also alleging that the deal was
authorized by the wrong government official and remains unratified by the
Guinean parliament.
Rusal declined to respond to direct questions from Asia Times Online. An April
12, Bloomberg report cited an e-mail from Rusal spokeswoman Elena
Shuliveystrova saying "A commission on the privatization of Friguia ... will
thoroughly study the situation and give its final conclusion."
Rusal acquired management rights at Friguia in 2002, then bought the assets in
March 2006. "We … welcome this decision," the spokeswoman said, "because RusAl
privatized Friguia legitimately and in full compliance with the legislation."
The Rusal website reports that Friguia has current capacity to turn out almost
2 million tonnes of bauxite, and 640,000 tonnes of alumina per annum. Rusal
also says it is planning a costly expansion of production capacity at Friguia
to 1 million tonnes per annum. Friguia is the second of Rusal's bauxite mining
concessions in Guinea; the first is known as Kindia. Rusal doesn't separate the
two in its consolidated production results of last October.
A leading African analyst in Moscow, Vadim Zaytsev of the Rosafroexpertiza
consultancy, thinks Camara is bluffing. “I seriously doubt they [the military
government] will dare to change the terms of the original agreement, which was
signed and ratified, as this will have serious influence on the investment
climate there. Besides, they are not stupid, and know that Rusal has no money
to pay. I think this that all has been done to get to a dialogue, and pressure
Rusal into more investments for the ecology, water treatment facilities, and
the like. Again, I doubt they will go that far [as revoking Rusal's title], and
change the agreement. There are other companies working in Guinea, too."
If the Guinean junta is bluffing, at least one Rusal employee isn't so sanguine
about the outcome.
Anatoly Panchenko, head of Rusal's Guinean operation, has been reported by
local radio as having sought the protection of the Russian Embassy compound in
Conakry, the Guinean capital. The Russian consul at the embassy, Anatoly
Malishev, told Asia Times Online that Panchenko went to the embassy on April 8
and is still there. He sought to play down the political implications.
According to Malishev, Panchenko is suffering from malaria and complications,
and is in the medical care of the embassy doctor.
Senator Mikhail Margelov, who heads the Foreign Affairs Committee of the
Federation Council, the upper chamber of the Russian parliament, told Asia
Times Online there is no Russian state interest at stake in Deripaska's
predicament in west Africa. Margelov, who was appointed the Kremlin's roving
troubleshooter for Africa in December, said last week that government reviews
of Rusal's assets in Nigeria and Guinea are "a commercial matter".
John Helmer has been a Moscow-based correspondent since 1989,
specializing in the coverage of Russian business.
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