Abramovich had received “preferential treatment and concessions” from the Kremlin and that he was involved in “destabilising Ukraine” and undermining and threatening the country’s “territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence” through his business links.
Another claim made against the 55-year-old billionaire was that the steel manufacturing and mining firm Evraz plc, in which he has exercised effective control as a major shareholder, has supplied steel for the production of tanks by the Russian military. Owing to these concerns, the company’s shares were suspended on the London Stock Exchange “pending clarification of the impact of UK sanctions”, the Financial Conduct Authority said. Moreover, following the freezing of Abramovich’s UK assets, he cannot sell his 29 per cent stake in Evraz.
Accordingly, UK-incorporated multinational steel manufacturer is now attempting to distant itself from the Russian oligarch and two other directors and is denying claims made by the British government. In a statement issued on Thursday, Evraz said Abramovich did not have “effective control” over the firm, pointing out that with less than 50 per cent ownership, he could appoint only three of 11 board members of the company.
“In view of the aforesaid, the company considers that the UK financial sanctions shall not apply to the company itself,” it added. Evraz also denied claims that it supplied raw materials to build Russian tanks, saying it only provided steel for the construction and infrastructure sectors. A day earlier, the steel and coal company said it was unable to be certain whether Abramovich, together with two other major shareholders, Alexander Abramov and Alexander Frolov, could be viewed as persons “connected with Russia”, for the purpose of sanction laws. Nevertheless, the company had distanced itself from the individuals and were cancelling a shareholder pay-out to the Chelsea FC owner, which would have been worth $210 million (£160 million).
