Investors spared Deripaska firms

STOCK market tracker funds can now ditch firms owned by Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska after a rule change by the London Stock Exchange.

The LSE’s FTSE Russell division removed Deripaska’s energy firm EN+ and his aluminium company Rusal from its indices of global stocks and bonds, which means they no longer have to be bought by investment funds which seek to mirror the performance of markets by buying every company in an index.

The FTSE Russell division took action after the US government hit the two businesses with sanctions as part of reprisals for the alleged poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury last month. It also means that both EN+ and Rusal will no longer have easy access to billions of pounds of savers’ cash.

There is now speculation that the Financial Conduct Authority could force the firms to delist in London. A spokesman declined to comment.

The London Metal Exchange has seen a rush to offload aluminium before the sanctions bite.