Russians rolling into London
THE London Stock Exchange is set to welcome its first new Russian company in almost 18 months despite political pressure to crack down on money from that country flowing through the capital’s financial markets.
The flotation of Rustranscom – a freight giant which transports goods including grain and timber – risks sparking a fresh political row over Russian money in Britain.
The company hopes to raise $300 million (£228 million) through the share sale which could net founders Konstantin Sintsov and Konstantin Zasov multi-million pound paydays. It is the first new Russian listing on the LSE since Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska’s £1 billion float of his energy firm En+. Deripaska was later hit with US sanctions. Rustranscom is warning investors it may face sanctions as it has had dealings with a state-owned firm making Russian tanks.