The Central Bank obliged the Russian authorities to offer minority shareholders of the nationalized gold miner YuGK a buyout of shares - as required by law

The Bank of Russia sent the Federal Property Management Agency an order to offer minority shareholders of the gold miner Yuzhuralzoloto a buyout of shares in accordance with the law “On Joint Stock Companies” and is still awaiting its reaction, said the head of the Central Bank, Elvira Nabiullina.

In accordance with the law, a person who acquires a stake in a company of more than 30% is obliged to offer a buyout of shares to minority shareholders, including the state, within 35 days. Reuters, citing sources, wrote that the Moscow Exchange complained to the Central Bank that the Federal Property Management Agency did not fulfill this requirement after the nationalization of the controlling share of the SGC, which belonged to businessman Konstantin Strukov (about 67%). The Central Bank stated that there was no such offer and ordered the Federal Property Management Agency to organize the procedure: on October 8, the regulator officially confirmed that such an order had been sent.

“In accordance with the law, we are empowered, if this rule [on the offer to minority shareholders] is violated, to demand its implementation. Such an order has been sent, there is a sufficient period of time. We are still waiting for a reaction,” Nabiullina commented.

A court in Chelyabinsk decided to nationalize Strukov’s share in the YuGK at the request of the Prosecutor General’s Office in July. The department insisted (https://t.me/novaya_pishet/52418) that he violated the ban on combining business and civil service and benefited from his position. Strukov is a deputy of the Legislative Assembly of the Chelyabinsk region, has held the post of vice speaker since 2017 and is a member of the committee on ecology and environmental management.

YuGK is one of the largest gold miners in Russia. The Federal Property Management Agency now owns about 67.2% of the shares. The structure of Gazprombank owns 22%. The remaining 10.8% are free float shares that are traded on the Moscow Exchange.