Accordingly, RUSAL’s position, supported by the Court, has reaffirmed MMC’s Board had no rights to approve the buy back in September 2011, as it contravened the law “About the order of foreign investments in business entities of strategic importance for national defense and state security”. The Russian Federal Anti-Monopoly Service has warned Norilsk Nickel of these concerns about a year ago, but this warning was ignored and the buy back was completed regardless.

As a result of the buy back, which was carried out in the absence of the necessary approval of the Government Commission on Foreign investments, the group of the foreign investor Interros International Investments Limited, which, among others, includes MMC and Norilsk Nickel Investments Ltd, has unduly increased its control over Norilsk Nickel, which is a strategic Company for the purposes of the strategic investment law.

Norilsk Nickel spent USD9 billion for the several rounds of buy-back it conducted in 2011, monies, which could have been spent on developing its production facilities and on social and environmental improvements. The current market value of all of the Norilsk Nickel shares and ADRs acquired in 2011 is now only about USD5 billion, some USD4 billion less than the monies spent by Norilsk Nickel in their acquisition.