United Co. Rusal PLC said May 25 that Oleg Deripaska stood down as nonexecutive director, effective immediately, as part of the company's efforts to protect its interests in light of U.S.-imposed sanctions on the Russian aluminum producer.
A day earlier, CEO Alexandra Bouriko and half of its board members resigned from Rusal, with Evgeny Nikitin taking over as acting CEO. Shares in the company rallied on the Moscow and Hong Kong stock exchanges May 24 following the resignations.
Deripaska previously stepped down as a director at En+ Group PLC, which was also hit by the sanctions. Rusal and En+, its controlling shareholder, were added to a list of 14 Russian companies and 24 individuals sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department for profiting from Russia's "malign activity around the globe" in April.
The U.S. government previously said it would consider lifting the sanctions if major Rusal shareholder Deripaska ceded control of the company.
Additionally, the Ukrainian government mirrored the U.S. by including Deripaska on its expanded sanctions list, Reuters reported May 24, citing a document posted on the presidential website. Rusal owns a large alumina plant in the country.
