By Anna Rzhevkina and Zandi Shabalala
Aug 10 (Reuters) - Shareholders of Russian gold miner
Petropavlovsk voted on Monday against reinstating
co-founder Pavel Maslovskiy and other members of the company's
board and called for an investigation into transactions over the
past three years, the latest salvo in a battle for control of
the group.
Maslovskiy, who was CEO, and other board members were voted
off the board in June but the old board challenged the validity
of that vote.
Shares in the London-listed company, which has a history of
boardroom conflicts, fell more than 8% after Monday's vote. They
recovered some losses and were down 2.3% by 1635 GMT.
The current stand-off pits four shareholders led by rival
miner and largest shareholder Uzhuralzoloto (UGC), owned by
Russian billionaire Konstantin Strukov, against the old board
which is backed by asset manager Prosperity Capital Management.
Shareholders also approved an independent investigation of
related party transactions during the three years prior to the
date of the meeting.
Shareholder Everest Alliance Ltd, which holds a 6.5% stake
in Petropavlovsk, voted against reinstating the old board
members, saying in a statement that in its opinion "directors
did not act in the best interests of the company".
Petropavlovsk saw the actions of rebel shareholders in June
as an attempt to gain control over the company and asked British
regulators to look into a possible breach of the takeover code.
"This is a disappointing result, but we remain unbowed,"
Prosperity Capital Management said in a statement after Monday's
vote, adding that other minority shareholders also believed that
"Petropavlovsk deserves a strong, independent Board."
(Reporting by Anna Rzhevkina and Zandi Shabalala; Editing by
Susan Fenton)
