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Swordsmyth
12-19-2018, 04:06 PM
Offering some relief to industrial firms in the US and Europe, which have struggled with higher aluminum prices (on top of Trump's tariffs on aluminum entering the US), the Treasury announced on Wednesday that it has struck a deal with Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska to remove sanctions on Rusal, En+ Group Plc and JSC EuroSibEnergo in exchange for Deripaska reducing his ownership stake in each company below 50%, committing to a "complete overhaul" of each company's board, and agreeing to "unprecedented transparency" (including agreeing to auditing, reporting and certification) in the companies' operations.
The announcement is the result of months of negotiations between Deripaska and the Treasury after the latter added the former and his companies to the US sanctions list in April - a move that made Rusal, the world's largest aluminum producer outside of China, the largest company to ever be sanctioned by the Treasury. Since April, aluminum prices have climbed while shares of the firms, which trade in London, have fallen by more than $9 bilion, according to Bloomberg. (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-12-19/trump-ready-to-remove-sanctions-on-deripaska-s-rusal-in-30-days)


The companies will be officially relieved of sanctions in 30 days, unless Congress votes to continue the sanctions. Deripaska and his companies were sanctioned in April (https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-08-24/us-imposes-new-russia-sanctions-will-stay-place-until-change-russian-behavior) as part of the US's response for allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 election.
According to the Financial Times (https://www.ft.com/content/3be0bc06-03b5-11e9-99df-6183d3002ee1), Deripaska has already ripped up shareholder agreements that gave him control over the two companies, sacked executives close to him and installed new independent directors.
In his statement, Mnuchin noted that Deripaska, not his companies, was the intended target of the sanctions, and that the oligarch, who purportedly has close ties to the Kremlin, would remain on the sanctions list.

More at: https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-12-19/treasury-drops-sanctions-against-rusal-after-striking-deal-russian-oligarch

Swordsmyth
01-09-2019, 10:40 PM
Seven Democratic committee heads from the U.S. House of Representatives have asked U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to explain the department's Dec. 19, 2018, decision to ease sanctions on companies linked to Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, RFE/RL reported Jan. 9. The Democrats have given the department until Jan. 11 to respond to the request.

More at: https://worldview.stratfor.com/situation-report/russia-us-house-democrats-request-treasury-department-explanation-lifting-sanctions

Ain't it great having them in charge of the House?
We'll be at war with Russia so much faster!
Gridlock for the win!
:sarcasm:

Swordsmyth
01-15-2019, 06:17 PM
Senate Democrats and 11 Senate Republicans voted on Tuesday to advance a measure which would prevent the Treasury Department from relaxing sanctions on Russian companies connected to Oleg Deripaska, an oligarch with ties to the Kremlin.
House Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) proposed the resolution to oppose President Donald Trump's decision to lift sanctions on those firms, CNN reported (https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/15/politics/sanctions-senate-republicans-trump/index.html).
Schumer forced the vote under a provision of the 2017 Russia sanctions law, which allows lawmakers to reject any attempt by the Trump administration to loosen sanctions on Russian companies, within a 30-day window if they believe it undermines United States economic or national security interests. The Senate voted 57-42 for the resolution, and it will need 51 votes on the floor to pass with a simple majority. It will need 60 votes to bypass a filibuster effort, according to Fox News (https://www.foxnews.com/politics/senate-republicans-rebuke-mcconnell-trump-on-russia-sanctions-resolution).
Republicans who voted to keep the sanctions were Senators. John Kennedy (La.), Susan Collins (Maine), Marco Rubio (Fla.), John Boozman (Ark.), Tom Cotton (Ark.), Steve Daines (Mont.), Cory Gardner (Colo.), Josh Hawley (Mo.), Ben Sasse (Nebr.), Martha McSally (Ariz.), and Jerry Moran (Kans).

More at: https://freebeacon.com/politics/senate-republicans-go-against-trump-to-keep-russia-sanctions/

Swordsmyth
01-17-2019, 01:19 AM
In a victory for President Donald Trump, the U.S. Senate on Wednesday rejected legislation to keep sanctions on companies linked to Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, including aluminum firm Rusal <0486.HK>.Senators voted 57-42 to end debate on the measure, as 11 of Trump's fellow Republicans broke from party leaders to join Democrats in favor of the resolution, amid questions about Trump's relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
That result fell short of the 60 votes necessary to advance to a final passage vote in the 100-member Senate, where Republicans have a 53-47 seat majority.
A similar measure will be brought up for a vote on Thursday in the House of Representatives, where Democrats control a majority of seats. But its long-term fate was uncertain. To keep the administration from lifting the sanctions, the measure must pass both the House and Senate and muster the two-thirds majority needed in both chambers to override an expected Trump veto.


Hours after Wednesday's vote, the Treasury extended by one week its deadline for Deripaska to divest his holdings in Rusal, En+ and EuroSibEnergo to Jan. 28. The restructurings are a key condition for lifting the sanctions on the companies.
Deripaska, an influential businessman close to Putin, himself would remain subject to U.S. sanctions.

More at: https://news.yahoo.com/bid-keep-u-sanctions-russias-rusal-fails-senate-011725684--finance.html

Swordsmyth
01-17-2019, 05:28 PM
Michael Steele, former Republican National Committee chairman, accused Republican senators on Wednesday of colluding with the Kremlin for voting down a resolution to prevent President Donald Trump from easing sanctions against several Russian firms.“This is an example of circling the wagon on the hill, trying to give some space, some elbow room to the president right now, to sort of shift the narrative a bit, to sort of refocus the conversation,” Steele told MSNBC host Ari Melber.

“It’s all collusion,” Steele responded when asked if the move to squash the vote was “collusion-y.”
“[B]ecause in my estimation if you’re taking these steps given the information, the facts, as we now see them being laid out and you’re going to slow the roll, legislatively, then you’re now a part of this narrative just as much as anybody else is as far as I’m concerned. Particularly when these guys have the evidence. They have more information than you do sitting here, and you’ve got a lot,” the former top Republican Party official continued.
“[I]f this is the step you want to take, if you’re going to gum up the work, filibuster on this measure… then you’re saying to a lot of Americans out there, that you’re down with protecting the president to such an extent that its violative of the law, you don’t care, he added. “The most important thing is to give cover to this president.”

More at: https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/01/17/michael-steele-accuses-gop-senators-of-collusion-for-blocking-russian-sanctions/