Media release
Origin Energy & Rio Tinto must take immediate action on Deripaska and Vekselberg interests
The Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR) welcomes the Federal government’s decision to sanction Russian oligarchs Oleg Deripaska and Viktor Vekselberg today. ACCR is calling on Origin Energy (ASX:ORG) and Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) to take immediate action to quarantine the interests of both oligarchs in their respective joint ventures.
Oleg Deripaska and Viktor Vekselberg were sanctioned by the US Department of the Treasury on 6 April 2018, with further sanctions imposed on Vekselberg on 11 March 2022.
Oleg Deripaska and Viktor Vekselberg were sanctioned by the British government on 10 March and 15 March, respectively.
Origin Energy (ASX:ORG) (77.5%) is in a joint venture with Falcon Oil & Gas Ltd (22.5%) in the Beetaloo Basin.
- Russian oligarch Viktor Vekelsberg owns approximately 16% of Falcon Oil & Gas Ltd through subsidiary company Lamesa Group Holding SA.
- Vekelsberg representative Maxim Mayorets resigned from the board of Falcon Oil & Gas on 1 March 2022.
Queensland Alumina Ltd is a joint venture between Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) (80%) and Rusal International PJSC (20%).
- Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska owns approximately 44.5% of En+ Group International PJSC which in turn owns 56.9% of Rusal International PJSC.
- Russian oligarch Viktor Vekelsberg owns approximately 32.3% of Rusal International PJSC through subsidiary companies SUAL Partners Ltd (21.6%) and Zonoville Investments Ltd (10.7%).
Dan Gocher, Director of Climate & Environment at the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR) said:
“We welcome the Minister’s decision today to sanction Deripaska and Vekselberg, but questions remain as to why the government was slower to act than the British and US governments, nearly three weeks after the invasion of Ukraine.
“The government must consider imposing sanctions on Rusal, in addition to the Russian financial institutions listed today.
“Both Origin Energy and Rio Tinto must take every possible step to ensure that neither Deripaska nor Vekselberg financially benefits in any way from the respective joint ventures.
“Alumina exports from Queensland to Russia must be stopped immediately, to prevent the possibility of Australian alumina being used in munitions manufacturing.
“With sanctions now in force, we expect Rio Tinto to take complete control of the Queensland Alumina joint venture. We look forward to further disclosure on the implications of this process.
“Origin Energy should suspend its joint venture with Falcon Oil & Gas until Viktor Vekselberg’s interest in Falcon is quarantined. Origin must ensure that Vekselberg does not benefit from any successful exploration in the Beetaloo Basin.”
Background
Top five shareholders in Falcon Oil & Gas Ltd as at 13 March 2022:
| Holder | Common Stock Equivalent Held (actual) | Percent of Common Shares Outstanding (%) | Market Value (AU$M) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lamesa Group Holding SA | 157,083,634 | 16.00 | 24.5 |
| Nicolas Mathys | 40,000,000 | 4.07 | 6.2 |
| Lupus Alpha Asset Management GmbH | 4,882,500 | 0.50 | 0.8 |
| Philip O’Quigley CEO & Executive Director | 3,513,696 | 0.36 | 0.5 |
| Generali Portfolio Management Ltd | 1,228,212 | 0.13 | 0.2 |
Top five shareholders in Rusal International PJSC as at 13 March 2022:
| Holder | Common Stock Equivalent Held (actual) | Percent of Common Shares Outstanding (%) | Market Value (AU$M) |
|---|---|---|---|
| En+ Group International public joint-stock company | 8,641,786,854 | 56.88 | 6,344.4 |
| SUAL Partners Ltd. | 3,283,210,512 | 21.61 | 2,410.4 |
| Zonoville Investments Ltd | 1,625,652,591 | 10.70 | 1,193.5 |
| Vanguard Group Inc. | 100,218,969 | 0.66 | 73.6 |
| BlackRock Inc. | 69,546,171 | 0.46 | 51.1 |
Top five shareholders in En+ Group International PJSC as at 13 March 2022:
| Holder | Common Stock Equivalent Held (actual) | Percent of Common Shares Outstanding (%) | Market Value (AU$M) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oleg Vladimirovich Deripaska | 223,597,114 | 44.51 | 2,845.1 |
| Aktsionernoye Obshchestvo Tsentr Obrabotki Dannykh Irkutskenergo | 136,522,009 | 27.18 | 1,737.10 |
| Glencore PLC | 67,398,559 | 13.42 | 857.6 |
| Polina Valentinovna Yumasheva | 33,156,258 | 6.60 | 421.9 |
| Ninety One UK Ltd. | 627,011 | 0.12 | 8.0 |
NB: All data sourced from S&P Capital IQ
