Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska wins contempt case at UK High Court

Industrialist considered an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin

Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska attends the St Petersburg International Economic Forum in Russia last year. Reuters

The UK High Court cleared Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska of contempt on Wednesday.

The industrialist, who is considered an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has been involved in a long-running legal battle with Russia's former deputy finance minister Vladimir Chernukhin over the development of an “extremely valuable” site in central Moscow.

Mr Chernukhin, whose wife Lubov is a Conservative Party donor, previously claimed Mr Deripaska had deliberately put millions of his shares in aluminium and power company EN+ Group “beyond the reach” of the English courts.

In 2020, the former minister claimed Mr Deripaska arranged for EN+ to be “redomiciled” from Jersey to Russia in breach of an undertaking to the court to preserve his EN+ shares, which were then said to be worth about £190 million ($237 million).

At a hearing in March, lawyers for Mr Chernukhin alleged the oligarch had committed “serious and deliberate breaches” of the undertaking and that he should be found in contempt of court.

Contempt of court can be punished by an unlimited fine and up to two years in prison.

However, in a ruling on Wednesday, Judge Mark Pelling KC dismissed the bid, finding that Mr Chernukhin had not proved his case against Mr Deripaska.

Oligarchs sanctioned by the UK — in pictures

The UK has sanctioned more than 1,400 individuals and businesses, including 100 oligarchs and their relatives, since Russia invaded Ukraine in February. The list of oligarchs includes: Roman Abramovich, 55. PA

Katerina Tikhonova, left, and Maria Vorontsova, unseen, also known as Maria Putina, daughters of Russia President Vladimir Putin. Reuters

Oleg Deripaska, 54. The industrialist is worth £2 billion and has had close links with the British political establishment. He has a multimillion pound property portfolio in the UK. Reuters

Igor Sechin, 61. Officials described Mr Sechin as Mr Putin's right-hand man and the second most important person in the country. Reuters

Andrey Kostin, 65. The chairman of VTB, a Russian state-owned bank. Mr Kostin is also a member of the supreme council of the United Russia political party and deemed a close associate of Mr Putin. AP Photo

Alexei Miller, 60. The chief executive of energy company Gazprom, Russia's largest company and the world's biggest public energy supplier. AFP

Nikolai Tokarev, 71, president of the Russia state-owned pipeline company Transneft. Mr Tokarev is a former KGB officer who served with Mr Putin in East Germany towards the end of the Cold War. AP Photo

Kirill Shamalov, 39. He is Russia's youngest billionaire and the ex-husband of Mr Putin's daughter Katerina Tikhonova. Reuters

Pyotr Fradkov, 43. He is head of the sanctioned Promsvyazbank, which finances Russian defence industries, and the son of Mikhail Fradkov, a former prime minister of Russia and chief of its foreign intelligence service. Reuters

Denis Bortnikov, 47. The deputy president of government-affiliated VTB bank. His father, Alexander Bortnikov, is head of the Federal Security Service. Getty Images

Yury Slyusar, 47. The director of United Aircraft Corporation, one of the major defence organisations that has also been sanctioned. Getty Images

Mr Pelling said the allegation of breaching the undertaking “depends upon proof to the criminal standard that the shares in EN+ Group PLC were cancelled upon it changing its domicile to Russia”.

“That has not been proved,” he said. “On that basis this allegation must fail.”

The industrialist was initially sanctioned by the US for “having acted or purported to act on behalf of, directly or indirectly, a senior official of the government of the Russian Federation, and for operating in the energy sector of the Russian Federation economy”.

He was one of seven oligarchs hit with sanctions by the UK on March 10 last year.

Mr Deripaska was described as being “closely associated” with the Russian government and its leader and “involved in destabilising and threatening” Ukraine.

Four days after the sanctions were imposed, four protesters broke into one of Mr Deripaska’s properties in Belgravia Square, London, before declaring it “belongs to Ukrainian refugees”.