Media release
Rio Tinto and Worley’s exits from Russia welcomed
The Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR) is welcoming the announcements by Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) and Worley (ASX:WOR) today, confirming their severing of ties with Russia.
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 announcements from Rio Tinto and Worley today to ‘terminate commercial relationships’ and ‘withdrawal of services in and into Russia’, respectively.
“We look forward to seeing more detail about the implications for Rio Tinto’s Queensland Alumina joint venture.
“Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, all Australian companies should sever relationships with companies owned or part owned by oligarchs aligned with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“In the last fortnight, the global push to isolate Putin has escalated at enormous speed.
“Rio Tinto and Worley should be commended for taking appropriate action.
“Questions remain about Viktor Vekselberg’s interest in Origin Energy’s joint venture partner Falcon Oil & Gas.
“Vekselberg’s Renova Group has been sanctioned by the US government. While Vekselberg’s board representative has stood down from Falcon, Vekselberg still stands to benefit from any successful exploration in the Beetaloo Basin.
“The federal government must ensure that the Origin-Falcon joint venture has not or will not receive any government grants relating to the ‘gas-fired recovery’.”
Background
Top five shareholders in Falcon Oil & Gas Ltd as at 25 February 2022:
| Holder | Common Stock Equivalent Held (actual) | Percent of Common Shares Outstanding (%) | Market Value (AU$M) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lamesa Group Holding SA | 157,083,634 | 16.00 | 28.2 |
| Nicolas Mathys | 40,000,000 | 4.07 | 7.2 |
| Lupus Alpha Asset Management GmbH | 4,882,500 | 0.50 | 0.9 |
| Philip O’Quigley CEO & Executive Director | 3,513,696 | 0.36 | 0.6 |
| Capital Bank - GRAWE Gruppe AG | 1,300,000 | 0.13 | 0.2 |
Top five shareholders in Rusal International PJSC as at 25 February 2022:
| Holder | Common Stock Equivalent Held (actual) | Percent of Common Shares Outstanding (%) | Market Value (AU$M) |
|---|---|---|---|
| En+ Group International public joint-stock company | 8,641,786,854 | 56.88 | 10,034.2 |
| SUAL Partners Ltd. | 3,283,210,512 | 21.61 | 3,812.2 |
| Zonoville Investments Ltd | 1,625,652,591 | 10.70 | 1,887.6 |
| Vanguard Group Inc. | 99,249,319 | 0.65 | 115.2 |
| BlackRock Inc. | 66,901,177 | 0.44 | 77.7 |
Top five shareholders in En+ Group International PJSC as at 25 February 2022:
| Holder | Common Stock Equivalent Held (actual) | Percent of Common Shares Outstanding (%) | Market Value (AU$M) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oleg Vladimirovich Deripaska | 223,597,114 | 44.51 | 2,956.0 |
| Aktsionernoye Obshchestvo Tsentr Obrabotki Dannykh Irkutskenergo | 136,522,009 | 27.18 | 1,804.8 |
| Glencore PLC | 67,398,559 | 13.42 | 891.0 |
| Polina Valentinovna Yumasheva | 33,156,258 | 6.60 | 438.3 |
| Ninety One UK Ltd. | 627,011 | 0.12 | 8.3 |
NB: All data sourced from S&P Capital IQ
