Spyware placement. MI6 had questions to the IPO of En +

Shares of the energy company Oleg Deripaska were placed without proper consultation with the intelligence services, believe in London.
08.02.2018
Forbes
Origin source
IPO holding En + Group Oleg Deripaska on the London Stock Exchange caused concern in the British intelligence MI6, reports The Telegraph.

The reason for this is that En + Group unites electricity producers and aluminum plants of "Rusal", which among others produce metal powder. It is used "in the production of military equipment," including the production of the Russian "Buk" rocket. As the newspaper notes, it was from this missile, according to the conclusion of the Dutch investigators, that Boeing 777 was shot down in the Donbass in the summer of 2014.

The intelligence services believe that the initial placement, during which En + was able to raise $ 1.5 billion, went without proper consulting with the intelligence services, the publication said. A senior British intelligence official familiar with the matter, in a conversation with the newspaper described the decision to hold an IPO as a "scandal".

Sir Mike Penning, the former British defense minister, sent a number of questions about placing EN + in the House of Commons, including whether Russian companies listed on the London Stock Exchange and supplying aluminum to Russia represent "a threat to the national interests and security of the UK" .

The Telegraph draws attention to the fact that En + is also partly owned by VTB, which is under EU and US sanctions. The bank granted the firm £ 697 million ($ 974 million) to help carry out the IPO, the newspaper said.

"There are serious concerns that the funds raised by En + in London can be used to circumvent the sanctions, as well as to improve Russia's military-industrial base, while the Russian military threatens the security interests of the UK," the source said.

The British listing department, which assesses the suitability of companies for placement on the exchange, said that the decision to place was approved by the Treasury.

An En + spokesman declined to comment on reports of Rusal's involvement in the production of military equipment, but said the company did not violate the sanctions regime. "One of the main goals of our IPO was to reduce the share of borrowed funds for the development of the group and pay dividends for the benefit of all shareholders," the holding added.

En + held an IPO on the London Stock Exchange in November 2017, it became the largest primary placement of the Russian company in the last five years. The holding itself attracted $ 1 billion, Deripaska received another $ 500 million. The whole company was valued at $ 8 billion.