Oleg Deripaska - Legal Investigations in England and Spain

Legal Investigations in England and Spain

In July 2006, whilst Deripaska was involved in a bid to buy the Daimler Chrysler Group, it was reported that the United States canceled his entry visa; the unnamed official declined to give a reason for the revoking of the visa. The Wall Street Journal reported that it could have been because Deripaska has been accused of having links to organized crime in Russia and cited as their sources two unnamed U.S. law enforcement officials. Deripaska had received a multi-entry visa in 2005; a U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation spokesman refused to comment. Lobbying on his behalf had been done by former Senate Republican leader and 1996 presidential candidate Bob Dole and his Alston & Bird law partners, Senate records show. Alston & Bird was paid about US$260,000 in 2005 for work on "Department of State visa policies and procedures" tied to Deripaska. In 2009 Deripaska was again allowed entry and visited the USA twice; The Wall Street Journal reported that according to two unnamed FBI administration officials Deripaska had met with agents regarding a continuing criminal probe, the details of the probe were not known or reported. During Deripaska's visits he visited leading management figures from investment banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley . The Aluminum company that Deripaska heads, United Company RUSAL, was in preparations for an initial public offering. The easing of Deripaska's visa issues which were an issue for possible investors helped to reassure bankers. The State Department has never said why it revoked his visa and refused to comment on his 2009 visits. The visits were arranged outside of the usual process as the US continues to have concerns about Deripaska's business associations. Deripaska has repeatedly denied a connection to any organized crime and said business rivals have caused the visa to be revoked by smearing him. When interviewed by the BBC in July 2009, Deripaska said that the authorities in America had been attempting to blackmail him by revoking his visa and thus affecting possible investors in a negative way and thereby hoping to push Deripaska into cooperating with them.

According to an article in El Mundo, Deripaska and Iskander Makhmudov (head of UGMK) were asked by Spanish police to answer questions in relation to a money-laundering enquiry. The Spanish state prosecutor's office subsequently confirmed Deripaska's interrogation.

While Deripaska has been interrogated previously as a witness in Spain and England and by the FBI in cases of money laundering, he has never been charged with any crimes in those probes.

On 25 January 2010, the Financial Times published a story "Rusal: A lingering heat" exploring Deripaska's business relations with Sergei Popov and Anton Malevsky, alleged heads of Russian organized crime groups. Deripaska has accused Michael Chernoy of using Malevsky and the Izmailovskaya syndicate to extort US$250 million from him as part of a protection racket. However Deripaska has himself been accused of having similar links to Malevsky, who along with his brother Andrei owned a 10% stake in Deripaska's company. Deripaska denies the claims.

In November 2011, Spain's High Court sent the criminal cases against Deripaska to the Russian General Prosecutor's office because the root of the cases is Russian.