Two powerful Russian oligarchs with ties to Australia’s fossil fuel sector are yet to face sanctions, despite being targeted in the United States and United Kingdom.
The Morrison government this week broadened its sanctions against Russia’s elite this week, in response to President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. But neither Oleg Deripaska nor Viktor Vekselberg were on the list, despite having closer ties to Australian industry than arguably any other oligarchs.
A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade told Crikey sanctions considerations were “continuing”.
“The government will not speculate about future potential listings,” the spokesperson said.
Putin’s favourite industrialist
Deripaska, who is described as “Putin’s favourite industrialist” and reportedly has ties to organised crime, made a fortune in the aluminium industry during the volatile post-Soviet years.
That fortune has links with Australia. Russian company Rusal, one of the world’s largest aluminium companies, has a 20% stake in Queensland Alumina Limited, outside of Gladstone, in joint venture with Rio Tinto over the project. Deripaska still has a major stake in Rusal via his En+ Group, which holds a controlling share. Last week, Rio Tinto announced it was severing ties with Russia, and would be reviewing its relationship with Rusal.
Deripaska has been sanctioned in the US since 2018. When the Trump administration first came for him, Deripaska’s lobbyists tried to enlist an unlikely ally to his cause — former treasurer Joe Hockey, then Australia’s man in Washington DC.
In the UK, where the Johnson government added him to the sanctions list, calling him a pro–Kremlin oligarch closely associated with Putin, Deripaska has enjoyed extraordinary access to the country’s elite, entertaining leading political figures on his yacht. But like so many Russian billionaires, whose dirty money London welcomed with open arms, Deripaska has faced a frostier reception since Putin’s invasion. This week, demonstrators occupied his London mansion to protest the war.
Vekselberg left off
Ukrainian-born Vekselberg, who owns more Fabergé eggs than anyone in the world, has been sanctioned in the US since 2018, and by the UK since this week. Like Deripaska, he made his cash in aluminium, and now owns vast conglomerate Renova Group.
Vekselberg-controlled Lamesa Holdings has a 16% stake in Falcon Oil and Gas, which is engaged in a joint venture with Origin Energy over exploration in the Beetaloo Basin. He also sits on Falcon’s board. The Morrison government wants to unlock the Beetaloo Basin for fracking as part of its gas-led recovery. Through his subsidiary companies, Vekselberg maintains a 32% stake in Rusal, the company engaged with Rio Tinto.
Origin Energy has tried to downplay the extent of its ties with Vekselberg, noting while it had significant control over the joint venture rather than Falcon, it would comply with any rules set by the government with respect to sanctions.
But inexplicably, even as western allies move to target them, the oligarchs with the closest financial ties to Australia remain free to do business here.
Sanctions on oligarchs, yes, but on the ones we do serious business with, hell no. Here we go again. Put on a show, make an announcement, do very little: you can always depend on the Morrison Gang.
Funny that .Obviously a mate is going to make millions and then become a major donor to the Liberals coffers
All bluff and bluster from Morrison and the Liberals….need to check their offshore bank accounts
Very typical of this “Government” of fossil fuel apparatchiks, pussyfooting around, instead of stomping down on those Russians profiting from investing in Australia as hard as Russia is going after the Ukrainian people. We need more transparency on political “donations” lest we question the motives of everything this “government” does.
Will this fairly unpleasant revelation be aired on more mainstream media, the owners of whom probably dine regularly with people like this? More to the point why don’t we sanction those media owners, who also regularly engage in election-buying on behalf of their toy boys and other dubious business relationships?
And surely having one of these guys on your BoD looks like support for criminal activity?
But, as we all know, when has that ever stopped Schmorrison cosying up to potential political donors and fossil fuel corporates. On the contrary, they appear to be his BFFs.
My guess would be “probably not” in more MSM, if by that you mean any of the Murdoch media outlets. I would really like to be proved wrong on this.
Its the fossil fuel connection that gets them off the hook. Anyone in the way of climate action is a friend of the LNP. I always get this feeling that there are personal benefits for the people involved that we never hear about. Wish we could find out about that.
I wonder what ASIO knows about our leaders hidden finances?