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Russian businessman Deripaska steps down as president of En+ and Rusal

Rusal Director General Vladislav Solovyov has been appointed to the post

Oleg Deripaska Sergey Savostyanov / TASS

Oleg Deripaska

© Sergey Savostyanov / TASS

MOSCOW, February 23. /TASS/.

President of Russian aluminum producer Rusal and energy company En+ Group Oleg Deripaska has stepped down, and Rusal Director General Vladislav Solovyov has been appointed to the post, Rusal said in a statement on Friday.

Rusal’s Financial Director Alexandra Buriko has been appointed as the company’s new Director General. "On the whole, personnel changes will ensure additional synergy of metallurgic and energy segments of En + Group," the statement said.

The Russian business daily, Kommersant, reported earlier that Deripaska planned to leave his top executive position in the companies, citing sources close to Rusal stockholders. A conflict between Deripaska and Vladimir Potanin over the shares in Norilsk Nickel and landing on the US Treasury Department’s "Kremlin List" were among some possible causes for this decision by the businessman, the newspaper’s sources said.

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters earlier this week that he was skeptical that businessman Deripaska’s potential exodus from En+ and Rusal management could be linked to the release of the so-called "Kremlin List" in the United States.

Rusal, founded in 2007, is a leading global aluminum producer. The company has assets in 20 countries, with consumers in Europe, North America, Southeast Asia, Japan, China and South Korea.

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