Russia puts Evraz NTMK, Irkutskkabel, Kirskabel on list of economically significant organizations
MOSCOW. Jan 24 (Interfax) - The Russian government has expanded the list of "economically significant organizations" (ESO) by adding another three companies, including steelmaker JSC Evraz NTMK, an order (No. 86-r) posted on the official website for legal information showed.
Evraz NTMK is a major integrated steel plant located in Nizhny Tagil. Its current ownership structure is not being disclosed, but the last published report, for 2021, said it was controlled by Evraz Plc, like other divisions of steel and mining group Evraz. The group's main Russian divisions - Evraz ZSMK, Evraz KGOK and Evraz Vanadium Tula - were subsidiaries of Evraz NTMK.
Evraz Plc was controlled by Roman Abramovich's Greenleas International Holdings with 28.6%, which in early 2022 was transferred to Abramovich's direct ownership; Alexander Abramov with 19.3% held through Abiglaze Ltd.; Alexander Frolov with 9.7% held through Crosland Global.
The United Kingdom imposed sanctions against the company in 2022 and all Evraz Plc assets were frozen. This restricted the company's ability to pay dividends and make payments on its bonds, Evraz said at the time. All of Evraz Plc's principal shareholders are also subject to UK sanctions, and last August the group's Russian plants and coal division Raspadskaya were placed on the U.S. Treasury Department's Specially Designated Nationals List (SDN List).
The government also included JSC Irkutskkabel and OJSC Kirskabel, Russia's largest cable and wire makers, in the ESO list. The plants are managed by JSC Uncomtech Management Co, which according to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities was previously wholly owned by Cyprus-based Dolen Investments Limited, a stake in which was owned by Renova Group. Renova filed a lawsuit in Moscow Arbtration Court last year to seize Dolen's stake in Uncomtech.
Inclusion in this list of ESOs allows Russian beneficiaries to acquire direct ownership of shares and stakes in such companies through the courts to eliminate foreign holding companies from the chain of ownership, or transfer the rights to them to someone else. It also allows them to temporarily suspend foreign holding companies' corporate rights to the ESO, such as the right to vote at meetings, receive dividends and dispose of shares and stakes, by petitioning a court to suspend these rights.
Fourteen companies were included in the ESO list earlier. The initial list of March 2024 included companies that were part of the ownership structure of Alfa Bank, insurer AlfaStrakhovanie, retailers X5 and Azbuka Vkusa and fertilizer producer Acron : JSC AB Holding, UNS Holding LLC, X5 Corporate Center LLC (MOEX: X5), Gorodskoi Supermarket and JSC Acron Group. The list also included Razrez Arshanovsky LLC of Khakassia.
Agribusiness group PJSC Rusagro Group was later added to the list.