Oleg Deripaska to give up control of GAZ as US sanctions hit home
The controversial Russian businessman remains blacklisted and is suing the US, alleging it overstepped its legal powers in imposing sanctions on him
Nizhny Novgorod — Russian businessman Oleg Deripaska has said he is ready to give up control of GAZ after sanctions against the van (bakkie) maker began to bite and as Western partners, such as Germany’s Daimler, stopped doing business with the company. Deripaska and some of the businesses he controls were hit by US sanctions a year ago, when Washington imposed sweeping measures on some of Russia’s biggest companies and business figures to punish Moscow for its alleged meddling in the 2016 US election and other “malign activity”. Sanctions against GAZ, Russia’s biggest van maker, have not yet taken full effect due to licences for extensions issued by Washington, but are impacting the company, Deripaska said. “It’s a tough time,” he told reporters on Tuesday on a visit to the GAZ factory in Russia’s central region of Nizhny Novgorod. If sanctions are not lifted, he said, there is no chance GAZ will survive, even if the company is granted another extension in early July, because these...
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