Shares in steel firm part-owned by Roman Abramovich suspended
Shares in a steel company that is 29% owned by Roman Abramovich have been suspended on the London Stock Exchange by the City watchdog, after the UK government imposed sanctions on the Russian oligarch over his links to the Kremlin.
Evraz itself has not joined the list of Russian firms – such as Gazprom and Sberbank – whose shares have been suspended as a result of facing sanctions themselves. But the Financial Conduct Authority said trading in the shares had been halted “pending clarification of the impact of UK sanctions”.
Abramovich’s UK assets have been frozen, meaning he cannot sell his 29% stake in the London-listed steel and coal company unless sanctions are lifted.
It came a day after Evraz issued a statement to its investors in which it distanced itself from Abramovich and two other directors, as well as cancelling a shareholder payout that would have been worth $210m (£160m) to the Chelsea FC owner.
Evraz said on Wednesday that it could not be certain whether three major shareholders – Abramovich, Alexander Abramov and Alexander Frolov – would be seen as persons “connected with Russia” for the purposes of sanctions law.
It added that, regardless of their investment in the company, Evraz “does not consider itself to be an entity owned by, or acting on behalf or at the direction of, any persons connected with Russia”.
The company also said it had not made any loans to the men since 1 March, when the UK issued financial sanctions against multiple Russian entities and individuals.
The company will retain the dividend worth $729m to shareholders, which was due to be paid on 30 March. Abramovich’s share of the payout would have been worth $210m based on his 29% stake.
James Rutherford stepped down as a non-executive director
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