Oleg Deripaska
Encyclopedia
Oleg Vladimirovich Deripaska (born 2 January 1968) is the Russian Chief executive officer of Basic Element company
and a member of the Board of Directors and CEO of United Company RUSAL
, a Russian aluminium industry company. Deripaska owns a London home in Belgrave Square
, which was originally the town residence of the Dukes of Bedford; lives in Moscow.
Deripaska's estimated fortune was $28 billion in 2008, according to the Forbes
wealthiest list, making him the ninth richest man in the world. In 2009, Deripaska's ranking fell to a ranking of #164, with Forbes stating: "he may not withstand collapsing markets and heavy debts". However, in 2010 his fortune allowed him to rise to #57 of the World's Billionaires list with an estimated $10.7 billion. According to Forbes magazine, he removed the heads of his two largest companies and personally negotiated with the Russian government, banks and other creditors to restructure his loan obligations.
, a diversified investment group established in 1997, with assets in Russia
and abroad. Basic Element's main assets are concentrated in five sectors: energy, manufacturing, financial services
, agriculture
, construction and aviation
. The major assets include United Company RUSAL
the world's largest aluminium and alumina producer; GAZ Group automotive company
; Ingosstrakh, the country's oldest insurance company
; Bank SOYUZ (Банк «СОЮЗ»); Aviakor aircraft manufacturer
; EuroSibEnergo (ЕвроСибЭнерго), an investment
and energy supply
company; Glavmosstroy (Главмосстрой), a planning and construction company.
Basic Element owns companies and subsidiaries in Russia
, the CIS
countries, Africa, Australia, Asia, Europe and Latin America. Basic Element employs as many as 250,000 people. In 2007, Basic Element's consolidated revenues exceeded US$26 billion. The market value
of the company's assets is estimated at US$ 45 billion. But according to Izvestia
and Wiener Zeitung
, due to global financial downturns, Deripaska's companies have a debt that may have reached as much as $14 billion by the end of 2008, probably the biggest loss in Russia, as a result of the global financial crisis.
, Chairman of the Executive Board of the Russian National Committee of the International Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Competitiveness and Entrepreneurship Council, an agency of the Russian Government.
He sits on the board of trustees of the Bolshoi Theatre
, the School of Business Administration, the School of Public Administration, and the School of Economics at Moscow State University
and the School of Business Administration at St. Petersburg State University. Deripaska is a co-founder of the National Science Support Foundation and the National Medicine Fund. In 1999, Deripaska received the Order of Friendship
, a state award of the Russian Federation. He was named businessman of the year in 1999, 2006 & 2007 by Vedomosti
, a leading business daily published in partnership with The Wall Street Journal
and The Financial Times.
Deripaska is one of 16 global business leaders who drafted CEO Climate Policy Recommendations to G8
Leaders, a document outlining international business community's proposals to tackle global warming
. The proposals were signed by more than 100 of the world's leading corporations and handed to Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda
on 20 June 2008. The G8 leaders discussed the recommendations during the summit in Japan on 7–9 July 2008. The process was coordinated by the World Economic Forum
in collaboration with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development
.
, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast
, but grew up in Ust-Labinsk, Krasnodar Krai
. He graduated with honors in physics from Moscow State University
in 1993, and in 1996, he earned an economics degree from the Plekhanov Russian Academy of Economics
. He was general manager of the Sayanogorsk
Smelter (1994–97) and held the post of president of Sibirsky Aluminium Investment Industrial Group (1997–2001), which later became a core of Basic Element.
with an estimated wealth of £4,375m, but was not listed in 2006; however, according to an August 2006 article in the New York Times, the Russian business newspaper Vedomosti estimated Deripaska's total wealth at $14 billion, which, if true, would either have made him Russia's richest man or possibly tied for the spot with Roman Abramovich
.
He was said to have been the richest person in Russia, according to an 18 April 2008 Forbes report, with "a fortune of $28.6 billion – $11.8 billion more than he was worth last year". Deripaska himself has consistently said that the estimate of his wealth was exaggerated, which did not completely account for the amount of debt he incurred, and that he should be ranked far below the top ten on the list of the Russian billionaires. In the 2009 Forbes report his net worth was calculated as $3.5 billion – a drop of $24.5 billion.
In 2006, GAZ Group, purchased all the shares of LDV Holdings
(producer of light commercial vehicles, the city of Birmingham
, Great Britain) from an American fund Sun Capital. The main product of LDV is the light commercial vehicle Maxus. In May 2009 GAZ Group signed an agreement to sell its UK/LDV van business to Malaysia automobile manufacturer and distributor Weststar.
In April 2007, Deripaska acquired 25 percent (€1.05 billion) of the Austrian construction company Strabag SE
, which is owned by Hans-Peter Haselsteiner. Strabag is the sixth largest construction company in Europe. In May 2007, Magna International
chairman Frank Stronach
announced that Deripaska was becoming a strategic partner in Magna.
On July 25, 2008, GAZ Group launched the serial production of Volga Siber sedan, which is based on a platform acquired from the American corporation Chrysler
and was designed by the British studio UltraMotive. Engineers and specialists from Magna International
played an active role in the installation and fine tuning of the cars assembly line, as well as in the training of the Group's employees. On June 14, 2011, Volkswagen Group
Rus and GAZ Group agreed to manufacture Volkswagen and Škoda cars at GAZ plant in Nizhny Novgorod
. Under the agreement, full-cycle production of the new Volkswagen Jetta, Škoda Octavia, and Škoda Yeti will be organized at GAZ. Start of full-cycle production of the first car which is to be assembled at GAZ, Škoda Yeti, is planned for the fourth quarter 2012. The agreement is valid until 2019, however the parties do not rule out the possibility that cooperation could be continued beyond this date.
On 3 October 2008 Magna International announced that Russian Machines terminated its participation as a shareholder of the Canadian auto parts maker. However the companies said that development of autocomponents business in Russia, as well as other joint projects, would continue.
On 30 April 2009 Basic Element announced that it has transferred its 25% stake in Strabag to other shareholders of the company. It will also hold a call option to buy back the stake until 20 December 2009 with an opportunity of its extension to October 2010. Basic Element also retains one registered share of Strabag and keeps two places on Strabag nine-seat supervisory board.
On 30 November 2010 Basic Element bought back 17% stake in Strabag from other shareholders of the company for € 373 mln. Deripaska was also provided with an extension of the call option for the remaining 8% until 15 July 2014.
, Russia's largest private charity foundation. The fund supports over 400 initiatives across Russia aimed at developing education and science, preserving spiritual and cultural heritage, and improving standards in public health. It helps children, old people, talented youths, teachers, eminent scientists and other participants of the programs. Over the last three years the fund has coordinated a budget of $180 million and $65 million in 2008 alone. According to the fund's general director, Tamara Rumyantsyeva, the foundation is funded by Deripaska.
and led the Russian delegation to the APEC Business Advisory Council:
Deripaska’s interview on prospects of Eastern Siberia and Russian Far East development:
brought legal action against Deripaska in the Commercial Court of the High Court in London. Cherney sought a declaration that he was the beneficial owner of 20 percent of Rusal's stock which, he claimed, Deripaska held in trust for him. The claim was denied. On 3 May 2007, Mr Justice Langley ruled that Deripaska had not been properly served and that the court had no jurisdiction to try the claim under English law, because Deripaska was not domiciled in England and Wales. On 3 July 2008, Mr Justice Christopher Clarke ruled that the case should be tried in England, although "the natural forum for this litigation is Russia", because, he held, "risks inherent in a trial in Russia... are sufficient to make England the forum in which the case can most suitably be tried in the interest of both parties and the ends of justice". On 22 July 2008, he granted Deripaska leave to appeal. The Court of Appeal of England and Wales refused the appeal on 31 July 2009.
At a June 2011 case management conference, the judge deferred a decision on whether Cherney would be allowed to give evidence by video link from Israel rather than appear in person as an outstanding Interpol arrest warrant means he would be detained if he traveled to the UK. In late July 2011, the High Court ruled that Cherney may give evidence at the trial by video link from Israel and set trial for April 2012.
spokesman refused to comment. Lobbying on his behalf had been done by former Senate Republican leader and 1996 presidential candidate Bob Dole
and his Alston & Bird law partners, Senate records show. Alston & Bird was paid about $260,000 in 2005 for work on "Department of State visa policies and procedures" tied to Deripaska. In 2009 Deripaska was again allowed entry and visited the USA twice; The Wall Street Journal reported that according to two unnamed FBI administration officials Deripaska had met with agents regarding a continuing criminal probe, the details of the probe were not known or reported. During Deripaska's visits he visited leading management figures from investment banks Goldman Sachs
and Morgan Stanley
. The Aluminum company that Deripaska heads, United Company RUSAL
, was in preparations for an initial public offering. The easing of Deripaska's visa issues which were an issue for possible investors helped to reassure bankers. The State Department has never said why it revoked his visa and refused to comment on his 2009 visits. The visits were arranged outside of the usual process as the US continues to have concerns about Deripaska's business associations. Deripaska has repeatedly denied a connection to any organized crime and said business rivals have caused the visa to be revoked by smearing him. When interviewed by the BBC in July 2009, Deripaska said that the authorities in America had been attempting to blackmail him by revoking his visa and thus affecting possible investors in a negative way and thereby hoping to push Deripaska into cooperating with them.
According to an article in El Mundo
, Deripaska and Iskander Makhmudov
(head of UGMK) were asked by Spanish police to answer questions in relation to a money-laundering enquiry. The Spanish state prosecutor's office subsequently confirmed Deripaska's interrogation.
While Deripaska has been interrogated previously as a witness in Spain and England and by the FBI in cases of money laundering
, he has never been charged with any crimes in those probes.
On 25 January 2010, the Financial Times
published a story "Rusal: A lingering heat" exploring Deripaska's business relations with Sergei Popov and Anton Malevsky, alleged heads of Russian organized crime groups. Deripaska has accused Michael Chernoy of using Malevsky and the Izmailovskaya syndicate to extort $250 million from him as part of a protection racket. However Deripaska has himself been accused of having similar links to Malevsky, who along with his brother Andrei owned a 10% stake in Deripaska's company. Deripaska denies the claims.
In November 2011, Spain's High Court sent the criminal cases against Deripaska to the Russian General Prosecutor's office because the root of the cases is Russian.
(a major investor in both United Company RUSAL
and Glencore
), together with Rothschild, hosted George Osborne
, the Chancellor of the Exchequer
of the United Kingdom and a friend of Rothschild's from school and university, and Peter Mandelson
on Deripaska's yacht in Corfu
in the summer of 2008. Rothschild alleged in a letter to a newspaper that Osborne had tried to solicit a large political donation from Deripaska. There was considerable controversy over the relationship between Mandelson and Deripaska after it emerged that Mandelson had spent time on Deripaska’s yacht. Mandelson, then EU Trade Commissioner, had presided over the reduction of EU aluminium tariffs, which benefitted Deripaska and led many to suggest there was a conflict of interest and even that Mandelson had intervened in EU policy on the aluminium tycoon's behalf. Mandelson denied he had done any favours for Deripaska.
In response to the allegations, David O'Sullivan, Director-General for Trade, European Commission, wrote a letter to The Sunday Times in which he stated:
; the couple have two children.
Basic Element (company)
Basic Element is a diversified investment company founded in 1997 and owned by Oleg Deripaska. It is based in Moscow, Russia.- Overview :Basic Element's main assets are concentrated in five economic sectors - Energy, Manufacturing, Financial Services, Construction and Aviation.About 250,000 people...
and a member of the Board of Directors and CEO of United Company RUSAL
United Company RUSAL
United Company RUSAL is the world's largest aluminium company, with headquarters in Moscow, Russian Federation. UC RUSAL accounts for almost 11% of the world's primary aluminium output and 13% of the world’s alumina production. The United Company was formed by the merger of RUSAL , SUAL, and the...
, a Russian aluminium industry company. Deripaska owns a London home in Belgrave Square
Belgrave Square
Belgrave Square is one of the grandest and largest 19th century squares in London, England. It is the centrepiece of Belgravia, and was laid out by the property contractor Thomas Cubitt for the 2nd Earl Grosvenor, later the 1st Marquess of Westminster, in the 1820s. Most of the houses were occupied...
, which was originally the town residence of the Dukes of Bedford; lives in Moscow.
Deripaska's estimated fortune was $28 billion in 2008, according to the Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
wealthiest list, making him the ninth richest man in the world. In 2009, Deripaska's ranking fell to a ranking of #164, with Forbes stating: "he may not withstand collapsing markets and heavy debts". However, in 2010 his fortune allowed him to rise to #57 of the World's Billionaires list with an estimated $10.7 billion. According to Forbes magazine, he removed the heads of his two largest companies and personally negotiated with the Russian government, banks and other creditors to restructure his loan obligations.
Basic Element
Deripaska is the sole owner and CEO of Basic ElementBasic Element (company)
Basic Element is a diversified investment company founded in 1997 and owned by Oleg Deripaska. It is based in Moscow, Russia.- Overview :Basic Element's main assets are concentrated in five economic sectors - Energy, Manufacturing, Financial Services, Construction and Aviation.About 250,000 people...
, a diversified investment group established in 1997, with assets in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and abroad. Basic Element's main assets are concentrated in five sectors: energy, manufacturing, financial services
Financial services
Financial services refer to services provided by the finance industry. The finance industry encompasses a broad range of organizations that deal with the management of money. Among these organizations are credit unions, banks, credit card companies, insurance companies, consumer finance companies,...
, agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
, construction and aviation
Aviation
Aviation is the design, development, production, operation, and use of aircraft, especially heavier-than-air aircraft. Aviation is derived from avis, the Latin word for bird.-History:...
. The major assets include United Company RUSAL
United Company RUSAL
United Company RUSAL is the world's largest aluminium company, with headquarters in Moscow, Russian Federation. UC RUSAL accounts for almost 11% of the world's primary aluminium output and 13% of the world’s alumina production. The United Company was formed by the merger of RUSAL , SUAL, and the...
the world's largest aluminium and alumina producer; GAZ Group automotive company
Automotive industry
The automotive industry designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells motor vehicles, and is one of the world's most important economic sectors by revenue....
; Ingosstrakh, the country's oldest insurance company
Insurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
; Bank SOYUZ (Банк «СОЮЗ»); Aviakor aircraft manufacturer
Aviakor
OJSC Aviakor is an aviation plant located in Samara. It is part of the Russian machines holding under control of the financial industrial group Basic Element owned by Oleg Deripaska. In USSR Kuibyshev aviation plant was one of the five largest plants in the aviation industry. For more than half...
; EuroSibEnergo (ЕвроСибЭнерго), an investment
Investment company
An investment company is a company whose main business is holding securities of other companies purely for investment purposes. The investment company invests money on behalf of its shareholders who in turn share in the profits and losses....
and energy supply
Energy supply
Energy supply is the delivery of fuels or transformed fuels to point of consumption. It potentially encompasses the extraction, transmission, generation, distribution and storage of fuels...
company; Glavmosstroy (Главмосстрой), a planning and construction company.
Basic Element owns companies and subsidiaries in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, the CIS
CIS
CIS usually refers to the Commonwealth of Independent States, a modern political entity consisting of eleven former Soviet Union republics.The acronym CIS may also refer to:-Organizations:...
countries, Africa, Australia, Asia, Europe and Latin America. Basic Element employs as many as 250,000 people. In 2007, Basic Element's consolidated revenues exceeded US$26 billion. The market value
Market value
Market value is the price at which an asset would trade in a competitive auction setting. Market value is often used interchangeably with open market value, fair value or fair market value, although these terms have distinct definitions in different standards, and may differ in some...
of the company's assets is estimated at US$ 45 billion. But according to Izvestia
Izvestia
Izvestia is a long-running high-circulation daily newspaper in Russia. The word "izvestiya" in Russian means "delivered messages", derived from the verb izveshchat . In the context of newspapers it is usually translated as "news" or "reports".-Origin:The newspaper began as the News of the...
and Wiener Zeitung
Wiener Zeitung
Wiener Zeitung is an Austrian newspaper. It is one of the most famous newspapers in Europe and one of the oldest, still published newspapers in the world. It is the official publication used by the Government of the Republic of Austria for its formal announcements. It was founded in 1703 under the...
, due to global financial downturns, Deripaska's companies have a debt that may have reached as much as $14 billion by the end of 2008, probably the biggest loss in Russia, as a result of the global financial crisis.
Rusal IPO
Rusal went public in January 2010. Hong Kong regulators were criticized for allowing Rusal, whose debt was nearly $15 billion, to list its shares. The Hong Kong exchange responded by warning investors of the risks and setting a minimum investment amount of $129,000. Rusal raised US$2.24 billion through its dual initial public offering in Hong Kong and Paris. The company sold 1.61 billion shares, or 11% of its market capitalisation, at HK$10.80 each.Other affiliations
In 2004, Deripaska was appointed by the President of Russia to represent the country in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Business Advisory Council (ABAC). He has held the position of Chairman of ABAC Russia since 2007. Deripaska is Vice President of the Russian Union of Industrialists and EntrepreneursRussian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs
The Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs is a lobby based in Moscow that promotes the interests of business in Russia. It has over 1,000 members, which include both private and state-owned companies, factories, and foreign and Russian plants....
, Chairman of the Executive Board of the Russian National Committee of the International Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Competitiveness and Entrepreneurship Council, an agency of the Russian Government.
He sits on the board of trustees of the Bolshoi Theatre
Bolshoi Theatre
The Bolshoi Theatre is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds performances of ballet and opera. The Bolshoi Ballet and Bolshoi Opera are amongst the oldest and most renowned ballet and opera companies in the world...
, the School of Business Administration, the School of Public Administration, and the School of Economics at Moscow State University
Moscow State University
Lomonosov Moscow State University , previously known as Lomonosov University or MSU , is the largest university in Russia. Founded in 1755, it also claims to be one of the oldest university in Russia and to have the tallest educational building in the world. Its current rector is Viktor Sadovnichiy...
and the School of Business Administration at St. Petersburg State University. Deripaska is a co-founder of the National Science Support Foundation and the National Medicine Fund. In 1999, Deripaska received the Order of Friendship
Order of Friendship
The Order of Friendship is a state decoration of Russia established by decree # 442 of March 2, 1994 of the President of the Russian Federation....
, a state award of the Russian Federation. He was named businessman of the year in 1999, 2006 & 2007 by Vedomosti
Vedomosti
Vedomosti is a Russian language business daily. It is a joint venture between Dow Jones, the Financial Times and Sanoma, publishers of The Moscow Times....
, a leading business daily published in partnership with The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
and The Financial Times.
Deripaska is one of 16 global business leaders who drafted CEO Climate Policy Recommendations to G8
G8
The Group of Eight is a forum, created by France in 1975, for the governments of seven major economies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In 1997, the group added Russia, thus becoming the G8...
Leaders, a document outlining international business community's proposals to tackle global warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
. The proposals were signed by more than 100 of the world's leading corporations and handed to Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda
Yasuo Fukuda
was the 91st Prime Minister of Japan, serving from 2007 to 2008. He was previously the longest-serving Chief Cabinet Secretary in Japanese history, serving for three and a half years under Prime Ministers Yoshirō Mori and Junichiro Koizumi....
on 20 June 2008. The G8 leaders discussed the recommendations during the summit in Japan on 7–9 July 2008. The process was coordinated by the World Economic Forum
World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum is a Swiss non-profit foundation, based in Cologny, Geneva, best known for its annual meeting in Davos, a mountain resort in Graubünden, in the eastern Alps region of Switzerland....
in collaboration with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development
World Business Council for Sustainable Development
The World Business Council for Sustainable Development is a CEO-led, global association of some 200 international companies dealing exclusively with business and sustainable development....
.
Education and early career
Deripaska was born in DzerzhinskDzerzhinsk, Russia
Dzerzhinsk is a city in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia, situated along the Oka River, about east of Moscow. Population: The city is named after Feliks Edmundovich Dzerzhinsky, a Polish Bolshevik leader who was the first head of the Cheka ....
, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast
Nizhny Novgorod Oblast
Nizhny Novgorod Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Nizhny Novgorod. Population: The oblast is crossed by the Volga River. Apart from Nizhny Novgorod's metropolitan area, the biggest city is Arzamas...
, but grew up in Ust-Labinsk, Krasnodar Krai
Krasnodar Krai
-External links:* **...
. He graduated with honors in physics from Moscow State University
Moscow State University
Lomonosov Moscow State University , previously known as Lomonosov University or MSU , is the largest university in Russia. Founded in 1755, it also claims to be one of the oldest university in Russia and to have the tallest educational building in the world. Its current rector is Viktor Sadovnichiy...
in 1993, and in 1996, he earned an economics degree from the Plekhanov Russian Academy of Economics
Plekhanov Russian Academy of Economics
Plekhanov Russian Economic University is a public university located in Moscow, Russia. The university is one of the largest Russian economic institutes of higher education and a member of several international university bodies, such as the European University Association and the European...
. He was general manager of the Sayanogorsk
Sayanogorsk
Sayanogorsk is a town in the Republic of Khakassia, Russia, located on the left bank of the Yenisei River, south of Abakan and about east of the railway station on the line Kamyshta which goes from Abakan to Abaza. Population: -Economy:...
Smelter (1994–97) and held the post of president of Sibirsky Aluminium Investment Industrial Group (1997–2001), which later became a core of Basic Element.
Later career
In 2005, he was included in the Sunday Times Rich ListSunday Times Rich List 2005
The Sunday Times Rich List 2005 was published in April 2005.Since 1989 the UK national Sunday newspaper The Sunday Times has published an annual magazine supplement to the newspaper called the Sunday Times Rich List...
with an estimated wealth of £4,375m, but was not listed in 2006; however, according to an August 2006 article in the New York Times, the Russian business newspaper Vedomosti estimated Deripaska's total wealth at $14 billion, which, if true, would either have made him Russia's richest man or possibly tied for the spot with Roman Abramovich
Roman Abramovich
Roman Arkadyevich Abramovich is a Russian businessman and the main owner of the private investment company Millhouse LLC.In 2003, Abramovich was named Person of the Year by Expert, a Russian business magazine. He shared this title with Mikhail Khodorkovsky...
.
He was said to have been the richest person in Russia, according to an 18 April 2008 Forbes report, with "a fortune of $28.6 billion – $11.8 billion more than he was worth last year". Deripaska himself has consistently said that the estimate of his wealth was exaggerated, which did not completely account for the amount of debt he incurred, and that he should be ranked far below the top ten on the list of the Russian billionaires. In the 2009 Forbes report his net worth was calculated as $3.5 billion – a drop of $24.5 billion.
In 2006, GAZ Group, purchased all the shares of LDV Holdings
LDV Limited
LDV Group Limited was a British van manufacturer, based in the Ward End area of Birmingham.In its history part of Rover Group and Leyland DAF, was latterly a wholly owned subsidiary of the Russian GAZ group...
(producer of light commercial vehicles, the city of Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, Great Britain) from an American fund Sun Capital. The main product of LDV is the light commercial vehicle Maxus. In May 2009 GAZ Group signed an agreement to sell its UK/LDV van business to Malaysia automobile manufacturer and distributor Weststar.
In April 2007, Deripaska acquired 25 percent (€1.05 billion) of the Austrian construction company Strabag SE
Strabag
Strabag is a European construction company based in Villach, with its headquarters in Vienna, Austria). It is the largest construction company in Austria and one of the largest construction companies in Europe...
, which is owned by Hans-Peter Haselsteiner. Strabag is the sixth largest construction company in Europe. In May 2007, Magna International
Magna International
Magna International Inc. , is an automotive supplier headquartered in Aurora, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's largest automobile parts manufacturer, and one of the country's largest companies. It owns the Magna Steyr automobile production company of Austria....
chairman Frank Stronach
Frank Stronach
Frank Stronach, CM is an Austrian-Canadian businessman. He is the founder of Magna International, an international automotive parts company based in Aurora, Ontario, Canada, and Magna Entertainment Corp., which specializes in horse-racing entertainment...
announced that Deripaska was becoming a strategic partner in Magna.
On July 25, 2008, GAZ Group launched the serial production of Volga Siber sedan, which is based on a platform acquired from the American corporation Chrysler
Chrysler
Chrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....
and was designed by the British studio UltraMotive. Engineers and specialists from Magna International
Magna International
Magna International Inc. , is an automotive supplier headquartered in Aurora, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's largest automobile parts manufacturer, and one of the country's largest companies. It owns the Magna Steyr automobile production company of Austria....
played an active role in the installation and fine tuning of the cars assembly line, as well as in the training of the Group's employees. On June 14, 2011, Volkswagen Group
Volkswagen Group
Volkswagen Group is a German multinational automobile manufacturing group. , Volkswagen was ranked as the world’s third largest motor vehicle manufacturer and Europe's largest....
Rus and GAZ Group agreed to manufacture Volkswagen and Škoda cars at GAZ plant in Nizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod , colloquially shortened to Nizhny, is, with the population of 1,250,615, the fifth largest city in Russia, ranking after Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, and Yekaterinburg...
. Under the agreement, full-cycle production of the new Volkswagen Jetta, Škoda Octavia, and Škoda Yeti will be organized at GAZ. Start of full-cycle production of the first car which is to be assembled at GAZ, Škoda Yeti, is planned for the fourth quarter 2012. The agreement is valid until 2019, however the parties do not rule out the possibility that cooperation could be continued beyond this date.
On 3 October 2008 Magna International announced that Russian Machines terminated its participation as a shareholder of the Canadian auto parts maker. However the companies said that development of autocomponents business in Russia, as well as other joint projects, would continue.
On 30 April 2009 Basic Element announced that it has transferred its 25% stake in Strabag to other shareholders of the company. It will also hold a call option to buy back the stake until 20 December 2009 with an opportunity of its extension to October 2010. Basic Element also retains one registered share of Strabag and keeps two places on Strabag nine-seat supervisory board.
On 30 November 2010 Basic Element bought back 17% stake in Strabag from other shareholders of the company for € 373 mln. Deripaska was also provided with an extension of the call option for the remaining 8% until 15 July 2014.
Charity
In 1998, Deripaska established Volnoe DeloVolnoe Delo
Volnoe Delo Foundation was established by Russian businessman Oleg Deripaska in 1998 and became by 2009 one of the Russia's largest private charity foundations., The Foundation supports a wide range of initiatives with a particular focus on education and children...
, Russia's largest private charity foundation. The fund supports over 400 initiatives across Russia aimed at developing education and science, preserving spiritual and cultural heritage, and improving standards in public health. It helps children, old people, talented youths, teachers, eminent scientists and other participants of the programs. Over the last three years the fund has coordinated a budget of $180 million and $65 million in 2008 alone. According to the fund's general director, Tamara Rumyantsyeva, the foundation is funded by Deripaska.
Quotations
Deripaska made the following comments following the meeting of APEC Leaders in Lima, Peru, where he accompanied Russian President Dmitry MedvedevDmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev is the third President of the Russian Federation.Born to a family of academics, Medvedev graduated from the Law Department of Leningrad State University in 1987. He defended his dissertation in 1990 and worked as a docent at his alma mater, now renamed to Saint...
and led the Russian delegation to the APEC Business Advisory Council:
Deripaska’s interview on prospects of Eastern Siberia and Russian Far East development:
Lawsuits
On 24 November 2006, Michael CherneyMichael Cherney
Michael Cherney is a Uzbekistan-born Israeli entrepreneur and industrialist. He is known for his significant role in the 1990s Aluminium in Russia, and his business ventures in Israel...
brought legal action against Deripaska in the Commercial Court of the High Court in London. Cherney sought a declaration that he was the beneficial owner of 20 percent of Rusal's stock which, he claimed, Deripaska held in trust for him. The claim was denied. On 3 May 2007, Mr Justice Langley ruled that Deripaska had not been properly served and that the court had no jurisdiction to try the claim under English law, because Deripaska was not domiciled in England and Wales. On 3 July 2008, Mr Justice Christopher Clarke ruled that the case should be tried in England, although "the natural forum for this litigation is Russia", because, he held, "risks inherent in a trial in Russia... are sufficient to make England the forum in which the case can most suitably be tried in the interest of both parties and the ends of justice". On 22 July 2008, he granted Deripaska leave to appeal. The Court of Appeal of England and Wales refused the appeal on 31 July 2009.
At a June 2011 case management conference, the judge deferred a decision on whether Cherney would be allowed to give evidence by video link from Israel rather than appear in person as an outstanding Interpol arrest warrant means he would be detained if he traveled to the UK. In late July 2011, the High Court ruled that Cherney may give evidence at the trial by video link from Israel and set trial for April 2012.
Legal investigations in England and Spain
In July 2006, whilst Deripaska was involved in a bid to buy the Daimler Chrysler Group, it was reported that the United States canceled his entry visa; the unnamed official declined to give a reason for the revoking of the visa. The Wall Street Journal reported that it could have been because Deripaska has been accused of having links to organized crime in Russia and cited as their sources two unnamed U.S. law enforcement officials. Deripaska had received a multi-entry visa in 2005; a U.S. Federal Bureau of InvestigationFederal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
spokesman refused to comment. Lobbying on his behalf had been done by former Senate Republican leader and 1996 presidential candidate Bob Dole
Bob Dole
Robert Joseph "Bob" Dole is an American attorney and politician. Dole represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996, was Gerald Ford's Vice Presidential running mate in the 1976 presidential election, and was Senate Majority Leader from 1985 to 1987 and in 1995 and 1996...
and his Alston & Bird law partners, Senate records show. Alston & Bird was paid about $260,000 in 2005 for work on "Department of State visa policies and procedures" tied to Deripaska. In 2009 Deripaska was again allowed entry and visited the USA twice; The Wall Street Journal reported that according to two unnamed FBI administration officials Deripaska had met with agents regarding a continuing criminal probe, the details of the probe were not known or reported. During Deripaska's visits he visited leading management figures from investment banks Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is an American multinational bulge bracket investment banking and securities firm that engages in global investment banking, securities, investment management, and other financial services primarily with institutional clients...
and Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City serving a diversified group of corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals. Morgan Stanley also operates in 36 countries around the world, with over 600 offices and a workforce of over 60,000....
. The Aluminum company that Deripaska heads, United Company RUSAL
United Company RUSAL
United Company RUSAL is the world's largest aluminium company, with headquarters in Moscow, Russian Federation. UC RUSAL accounts for almost 11% of the world's primary aluminium output and 13% of the world’s alumina production. The United Company was formed by the merger of RUSAL , SUAL, and the...
, was in preparations for an initial public offering. The easing of Deripaska's visa issues which were an issue for possible investors helped to reassure bankers. The State Department has never said why it revoked his visa and refused to comment on his 2009 visits. The visits were arranged outside of the usual process as the US continues to have concerns about Deripaska's business associations. Deripaska has repeatedly denied a connection to any organized crime and said business rivals have caused the visa to be revoked by smearing him. When interviewed by the BBC in July 2009, Deripaska said that the authorities in America had been attempting to blackmail him by revoking his visa and thus affecting possible investors in a negative way and thereby hoping to push Deripaska into cooperating with them.
According to an article in El Mundo
El Mundo (Spain)
El Mundo is the second largest printed and the largest digital daily newspaper in Spain and one of the newspapers of record in that country, with a daily circulation topping 300,000 readers for the printed edition and 24 million unique web visitors per month for the...
, Deripaska and Iskander Makhmudov
Iskander Makhmudov
Iskander Makhmudov is an Uzbek businessman based in Russia.- Overview :Iskander one of the most mysterious Uzbek businessmen. He was born in Bukhara, lived in Tashkent and graduated from the local university with a degree in Oriental studies. He then worked in different Soviet military...
(head of UGMK) were asked by Spanish police to answer questions in relation to a money-laundering enquiry. The Spanish state prosecutor's office subsequently confirmed Deripaska's interrogation.
While Deripaska has been interrogated previously as a witness in Spain and England and by the FBI in cases of money laundering
Money laundering
Money laundering is the process of disguising illegal sources of money so that it looks like it came from legal sources. The methods by which money may be laundered are varied and can range in sophistication. Many regulatory and governmental authorities quote estimates each year for the amount...
, he has never been charged with any crimes in those probes.
On 25 January 2010, the Financial Times
Financial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
published a story "Rusal: A lingering heat" exploring Deripaska's business relations with Sergei Popov and Anton Malevsky, alleged heads of Russian organized crime groups. Deripaska has accused Michael Chernoy of using Malevsky and the Izmailovskaya syndicate to extort $250 million from him as part of a protection racket. However Deripaska has himself been accused of having similar links to Malevsky, who along with his brother Andrei owned a 10% stake in Deripaska's company. Deripaska denies the claims.
In November 2011, Spain's High Court sent the criminal cases against Deripaska to the Russian General Prosecutor's office because the root of the cases is Russian.
Relationship with George Osborne and Peter Mandelson
Deripaska, who is a friend of Nathaniel RothschildNathaniel Philip Rothschild
Nathaniel Philip Victor James Rothschild , also known as Nat, is a British-born financier who has settled in Switzerland, and a scion of the prominent Rothschild family. He is the Chairman of "JNR Limited", an investment advisory business primarily focused on emerging markets and the metals, mining...
(a major investor in both United Company RUSAL
United Company RUSAL
United Company RUSAL is the world's largest aluminium company, with headquarters in Moscow, Russian Federation. UC RUSAL accounts for almost 11% of the world's primary aluminium output and 13% of the world’s alumina production. The United Company was formed by the merger of RUSAL , SUAL, and the...
and Glencore
Glencore
Glencore International plc is a multinational mining and commodities trading company headquartered in Baar, Switzerland and with its registered office in Saint Helier, Jersey...
), together with Rothschild, hosted George Osborne
George Osborne
George Gideon Oliver Osborne, MP is a British Conservative politician. He is the Chancellor of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom, a role to which he was appointed in May 2010, and has been the Member of Parliament for Tatton since 2001.Osborne is part of the old Anglo-Irish aristocracy, known in...
, the Chancellor of the Exchequer
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
of the United Kingdom and a friend of Rothschild's from school and university, and Peter Mandelson
Peter Mandelson
Peter Benjamin Mandelson, Baron Mandelson, PC is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Hartlepool from 1992 to 2004, served in a number of Cabinet positions under both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, and was a European Commissioner...
on Deripaska's yacht in Corfu
Corfu
Corfu is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the edge of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is administered as a single municipality. The...
in the summer of 2008. Rothschild alleged in a letter to a newspaper that Osborne had tried to solicit a large political donation from Deripaska. There was considerable controversy over the relationship between Mandelson and Deripaska after it emerged that Mandelson had spent time on Deripaska’s yacht. Mandelson, then EU Trade Commissioner, had presided over the reduction of EU aluminium tariffs, which benefitted Deripaska and led many to suggest there was a conflict of interest and even that Mandelson had intervened in EU policy on the aluminium tycoon's behalf. Mandelson denied he had done any favours for Deripaska.
In response to the allegations, David O'Sullivan, Director-General for Trade, European Commission, wrote a letter to The Sunday Times in which he stated:
I am very surprised by the allegations in the British press about Peter Mandelson, Oleg Deripaska and aluminium. The claims hint at Mandelson's personal intervention, in his capacity of European commissioner for trade, in favour of the Russian aluminium company Rusal. I would like to clarify that no such intervention took place. One allegation relates to a nine-year debate in the EU over tariffs on raw aluminium. The other relates to anti-dumping duties on Russian aluminium. In both instances, decisions were made after the usual consultation procedures.
Personal life
Deripaska is married to Polina Yumasheva, daughter of Valentin YumashevValentin Yumashev
Valentin Yumashev is a Russian journalist and politician, member of the inner circle of President Boris Yeltsin. He was Editor-in-Chief of Ogonyok in 1995-1996. In 1996 he was appointed adviser to President Boris Yeltsin for public relations. In March 1997 Yumashev succeeded Anatoly Chubais in the...
; the couple have two children.