Deripaska Says Treasury Response to Lawsuit Is Poorly Done
Deripaska Says Treasury Response to Lawsuit Is Poorly Researched
(Bloomberg) -- Billionaire Oleg Deripaska rejected the U.S. Treasury Department’s response to his legal challenge to American sanctions, saying it was “poorly researched.”
A so-called evidentiary memorandum from the Office of Foreign Assets Control, explaining the sanctions against Deripaska and his companies, said the tycoon sometimes acted in support of Russian President Vladimir Putin and was involved in the energy industry. Metals magnate Deripaska -- who sued the U.S. Treasury and Secretary Steven Mnuchin in March, asking a federal judge to lift the restrictions -- denied those allegations.
"Both claims are patently false," Deripaska’s press service said in a response to the memorandum.
Deripaska is fighting back in a U.S. court against American sanctions that he said are unfairly destroying his global businesses. He says the sanctions are based on unproven allegations claiming he's acting on behalf of a Putin government official. Deripaska, the founder of aluminum producer United Co. Rusal, was among the most prominent tycoons hit with sanctions by President Donald Trump’s administration, following the passage of a law to retaliate against Moscow for its meddling in 2016 U.S. elections.
While OFAC cites a decade-old story in the weekly U.S. magazine The Nation, saying that the purchase of an aluminum plant in Montenegro by one of Deripaska’s companies was part of a plan to increase Russian influence, the tycoon’s press service said the Balkan nation’s government proposed the acquisition.
The evidentiary memorandum was included in 160 pages of documents filed by the U.S. in the case as part of the administrative record.
Deripaska’s press service also said that a comment in a 2007 Financial Times interview cited by OFAC -- “I don’t separate myself from the state” -- was taken out of context. The billionaire was explaining to the newspaper why he chose to stay in Russia in terms of his attachment to his homeland, according to the press service. Its statement also confirmed Deripaska had a diplomatic passport as a Russian member of the APEC Business Advisory Council.
Energy Sector
An allegation that Deripaska was involved in the energy sector cited by OFAC is misleading, the press service said. His holding company En+, which the tycoon founded, doesn't operate in the oil and gas sector, but is an electrical utility with power generation representing less than a quarter of the business, his press service said.
Deripaska sued after OFAC lifted sanctions on En+ and Rusal after he relinquished control of the companies. Restrictions are still in place on the billionaire and his automaker GAZ Group.
The U.S. Executive Orders, which OFAC based the designation on, "very clearly define the possible causes for imposing sanctions and leave no room for misinterpretation." None of the allegations made match the criteria listed in those orders, his press service said.
There were no legal grounds for sanctions and the claim creates "opportunities for En+, Rusal and GAZ Group investors, suppliers and customers to recuperate their losses that are well above $15 billion,” Deripaska’s press service said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Yuliya Fedorinova in Moscow at yfedorinova@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Lynn Thomasson at lthomasson@bloomberg.net, Dylan Griffiths, Liezel Hill
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