Glencore boss Ivan Glasenberg quits as Rusal director after US slaps sanctions on Russian firms

The FTSE 100-listed miner also said it will not go ahead with plans to take a stake in EN+ through a share swap

The commodities trader has a long-term purchase agreement in place with Rusal (Reuters)

Glencore chief executive Ivan Glasenberg has resigned as a director of Russian aluminium producer Rusal, after the US placed sanctions on the company.

The US has named Rusal and EN+ in a new list of sanctions targeting Russian companies and their owners, amid a burgeoning diplomatic crisis over the poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury last month.

The Russian stock market dropped 10 per cent on Monday, with Rusal shares falling as much as 41.8 per cent.

London-listed Glencore said today that while it has various contracts with Rusal for the purchase of aluminium and alumina, it is “committed to complying with all applicable sanctions in its business, and is taking all necessary measures in order to mitigate any risks to Glencore’s business as result of the designation of Rusal and EN+ as SDNs [specially designated nations]”.

Glencore said it is “still evaluating the position under its contracts with Rusal”, but added that these contracts are “not financially material” to the business.

The miner added that it had previously signed a non-binding term sheet with EN+ with a view to swapping its shares in Rusal for global depositary receipts in EN+, but the group said it would not proceed with the transaction in light of the sanctions.

Rusal was founded by the owner of Chelsea FC, Roman Abramovich, while EN+ is controlled by oligarch Oleg Deripaska, whose personal wealth has fallen by almost $3bn (£2.1bn) in recent days, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.