THE Government doesn’t expect the Aughinish Alumina plant near Askeaton to be impacted by the inclusion of Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska in the latest round of EU sanctions against Russia announced yesterday (Friday).
Mr Deripaska, who is a close associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin, owns shares in EN+, the owner of Rusal, which in turn owns the County Limerick plant.
He also owns a company that provides military hardware to the Russian military.
According to the Irish Examiner, the Department of Enterprise expects the regulations giving legal effect to the fifth package of EU sanctions against Russia to come into effect this weekend.
“The Government strongly supports the continued operation of Aughinish Alumina, which is the largest alumina refinery in the EU. It is an essential part of the European supply chain for aluminium and a major employer in Limerick,” a spokesperson for the department said.
“It’s important to note that Oleg Deripaska previously surrendered his majority holding in EN+ and can’t receive any benefit from his minority holding”.
