News2 May 2013 11:39
Just seen this. Apologies if old news:
ENRC's founders face Dutch fraud lawsuit
The trio of oligarchs behind Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC) - the FTSE 100 miner being investigated by the Serious Fraud Office - have been hit by a fraud and bribery lawsuit against a separate part of their empire.
The Guardian has established that claims lodged in the Dutch courts show that International Mineral Resources (IMR) - which is owned by the ENRC trio of Alexander Machkevitch, Patokh Chodiev and Alijan Ibragimov - is accused of "blatant fraud, exacerbated by bribery" by Russian fertiliser group EuroChem.
EuroChem had previously said it was claiming damages of $800m (pounds 500m) from its supplier Shaft Sinkers, which is 48% owned by IMR, following problems with a $2bn Russian potash mining project.
In the new case the fertiliser group alleges that an IMR executive bribed a EuroChem employee to cover up the alleged ineffectiveness of Shaft Sinkers's work. It also claims IMR facilitated the concealment of a report that questioned whether Shaft Sinkers's sealing technology could be effective on the project.
EuroChem is again seeking $800m in damages - but this time from IMR - having made a similar-sized claim in October in separate arbitration proceedings against Shaft Sinkers.
IMR says its defence to the Dutch case will state that the EuroChem employee had signed a formal consultancy agreement with Shaft Sinkers to help it promote its business, which he had cleared with his immediate superior. They will also argue the alleged briber was only a consultant to IMR, not an employee. An IMR spokesman added: "The suggestion that IMR was somehow involved in the legitimate arrangement between Shaft Sinkers and a EuroChem employee is a fabrication."
IMR says no payments were made by it, and that Shaft Sinkers has at all times been run as a separate entity with separate corporate governance. It says any payments that might have made under any consultancy agreement between Shaft Sinkers and the Russian company would have been entirely legitimate and proper.
Shaft Sinkers, which terminated the contract to prevent flooding of a 1,000 metre mining shaft, has filed counterclaims in its separate cases with EuroChem for $15m of fees it says it is still owed.
A spokeswoman for Shaft Sinkers added: "Shaft Sinkers understands that EuroChem has issued proceedings against IMR in the Dutch courts and that IMR has instructed lawyers and intends to vigorously defend such proceedings.
"The three arbitrations [two in Zurich, one in Paris] between EuroChem and Shaft Sinkers and the claims brought by Shaft Sinkers in all three arbitrations are subject to confidentiality and we therefore cannot comment on these cases other than to reiterate that we believe EuroChem's claims are without merit and we are defending these claims and pushing our claims vigorously. Likewise we believe the claim brought against IMR is