DUSHANBE, July 5, Asia-Plus – Tajik Aluminum Company (TALCO; formerly Tajik Aluminum Plant or TadAZ) has confirmed its resoluteness to continue to get recognition of fraud actions by the United Company RUSAL (Russian Aluminum) against it through court, press release issued by TALCO said.  

In early June, TALCO filed suit in the High Court in London against RUSAL. TALCO   launched a claim for $500 million for alleged involvement of RUSAL and its affiliates in frauds between 1996 and 2004.   

In a ruling handed down on June 27, 2007 at the High Court in London, Mr. Justice David Steel refused TALCO’s application to include RUSAL on a list of codefendants on suit filed against former TadAZ director general Abduqodir Ermatov and Ansol Limited, former partner of RUSAL in Tajikistan. 

The next day after a hearing in the London High Court, Vera Kurochkina, a spokeswoman for RUSAL, said in an interview with Russia’s Vedomosti that RUSAL launched a counterclaim for $312 million for alumina that had been delivered to the Tajik plant but not been paid. 

Press release issued by TALCO yesterday said that Mr. Justice Steel had ruled that it would be too late to take RUSAL to the current hearing because it could delay hearing of suit filed against Ansol Limited and the former TadAZ director general Ermatov.  “However, the judge noted that it is strange that RUSAL has not been not defendant since the very beginning of the hearing,” TALCO’s press release said, noting that the company has made all preparations necessary for seeking injunction in other courts.

“TALCO wants its suits to be considered publicly and will resist any efforts of Russal to impede this,” press release said.  

As it had been reported earlier, the basis of a dispute between TALCO and RUSAL lies in TadAZ’s claims of overcharging for the supply of alumina.

TALCO claims that Ansol Limited had controlled the Tajik aluminum plant through corrupt relations with Mr. Abduqodir Ermatov.

Ansol Limited - Guernsey registered company owned by Mr. Avaz Nazarov, for the purpose of supplying raw materials to the aluminum industry.  Ansol entered into the joint venture with RUSAL to supply alumina to TadAZ and to finance the plant in return for aluminum to sell on the world market.

When TadAZ filed suit against Ansol Limited in the High Court in London in June 2005 and RUSAL seconded TadAZ that time.  “That time, RUSAL was assisting TadAZ with investigating frauds against the Tajik aluminum plant, admitting that the company Hammer, which had previously been one of the main supplier of alumina and which is involved in this case, is the venture launched by it jointly with Ansol Limited.  TALCO claims that RUSAL bore witness in the High Court in London in June 2005 and stated that it was not aware of those frauds.  “RUSAL that time stated that it will listen to the results of investigation and admit its share of responsibility for any damage caused to TALCO,” press release said.  

However, new details emerged about an extent of participation of RUSAL in the venture launched jointly with Ansol Limited.  Audit company Ernst & Young has analyzed the plant’s activity for that period and made a conclusion that relations between TALCO and Ansol were not mutually beneficial and Ansol overcharged for supply of alumina.   “Now TALCO considers that RUSAL and Ansol Limited launched the joint venture Hammer in 2003.  Additional documents used in the current hearing show that Rusal was involved in attempts to manipulate the alumina prices in order to artificially accumulate and keep up TALCO’s debts,” press release said.  

RUSAL and Ansol Limited have allegedly done that for the purpose of becoming main owners of the Tajik aluminum plant in the course of the future privatization of TadAZ, according to press release.

As far as suit filed by RUSAL and Hammer against TALCO in the Zurich Arbitration Court, TALCO denies it as absolutely unfounded.