Cameron crony faces calls to quit Russian firm hit by sanctions
And oligarchs lose billions as shares nosedive
PREssuRE was mounting on former energy minister Lord Barker last night over his role as chairman of a Russian firm banned from dealings with the us due to its links with the Kremlin.
As Russian stocks were hammered and the rouble fell amid concern over us sanctions and Russia’s role in the conflict in syria, critics said Barker should consider his position at the helm of energy firm EN+.
The company and its owner, Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, were slapped with sanctions by the us on Friday as Donald Trump sought to punish Russia for ‘malign activity around the globe’.
The us noted that Deripaska, who is said to be a member of Russian president Vladimir Putin’s inner circle, has been investigated for money-laundering and accused of bribing a government official, ordering the murder of a businessman and having links to organised crime.
EN+ shares, which are listed in London, fell 42pc yesterday, taking losses since Friday to 54pc. Deripaska, 50, is nursing a paper loss of around £2bn since the sanctions against him and other oligarchs were announced.
several Russian firms were caught in yesterday’s sell- off. Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich was left nursing a paper loss of around £309m as shares in his mining firm Evraz fell 14.5pc, or 65.1p, to 385.4p, on fears it could also be hit by sanctions.
shares in aluminium group Rusal, owned by EN+, also fell 42pc in Hong Kong. The main index in Moscow sank more than 11pc and the rouble stumbled 4pc against the dollar. The sell-off wiped £11.5bn off the fortunes of Russia’s richest tycoons.
Vadim Bit-Avragim, a money manager at Kapital Asset Management in Moscow, told Bloomberg: ‘Investors are afraid that now any Russian company is at risk of sanctions. Russian shares are seen as toxic assets.’
Barker, 52 – who served under David Cameron – has been chairman of EN+ since October, when he was hired in an attempt to reassure the City about the firm ahead of its London flotation.
He remained in his post last night even after two other board members quit and the firm admitted the sanctions were highly likely to damage the business.
Anti- corruption watchdog Transparency International said it would ‘raise some eyebrows in Parliament if a member’s declared interest in a debate is for an organisation subject to sanctions by a key ally’.
Labour MP John spellar said: ‘If the international community thinks it is serious enough to be considering sanctions, then clearly individuals involved in Parliament should review their position in the light of that.’
Barker was unavailable for comment. Deripaska has previously denied wrongdoing and described the sanctions as ‘groundless, ridiculous and absurd’.