London exit no end to this sorry tale

When Kazakhmys's chief Oleg Novachuk says that its stake in ENRC did not "create the opportunities that we had anticipated" he is underplaying the affair to the extreme.

ENRC raised £1.36bn when it floated in London at 540p a share in 2007. Now, after almost continual scandal regarding corruption allegations and shambolic corporate governance, its founders are buying it back at a time the shares are trading at just 225p. The delisting is almost certain to be agreed and completed by October.

ENRC may be exiting Britain's financial world, but with a Serious Fraud Office investigation under way into allegations of fraud, bribery and corruption in Kazakhstan and Africa, its presence could linger on in UK courts for years to come.