DUSHANBE, August 9, Asia-Plus – Press release issued by Tajik Aluminum Company, or TALCO, formerly known as TadAZ, on August 8 said that the company had managed to get permission from the British Virgin Islands (BVI) Court to hand over lawsuit papers on claim that was launched against several affiliates of the United Company Russian Aluminum (UC RUSAL).
Press release, in particular, says that TALCO has been permitted to hand over claims launched against two affiliates of the UC RUSAL, which are registered in Russia, to RUSAL’s lawyers in London.
Thereby TALCO has managed to avoid potentially long delay if it had had to hand over the claim documents in Russia, according to press release.
Press release says RUSAL was aware of the corrupt relationship between the Tajik aluminum plant’s former director Abduqodir Ermatov and Ansol top manager Avaz Nazarov and exploited this to its own advantage. RUSAL and its affiliates participated in fraud schemes, supplying alumina and other raw materials to the Tajik aluminum plant at inflated prices, receiving in return finished aluminum at excessive discounts
Tajik aluminum company also denied statement by RUSAL that TALCO’s lawsuit in BVI in July this year is allegedly just a reciprocation to RUSAL’s lawsuits against it as “unfounded”
We will recall that RUSAL said in its press release issued on July 18 that it considers the law suit in BVI by TALCO as just an attempt to stray attention from their responsibility in regards to the suits initiated by UC RUSAL against TadAZ for $312 million concerning the refusal to make the payment for the alumina shipment supplied to TadAZ. The two suits were filed by two affiliates of RUSAL – Hamer and Albaco – on June 1, 2007, in the arbitration court of Zurich’s Chamber of Commerce and the International Chamber of Commerce.
Press release by TALCO says that it is not true and the Russian company was aware of the lawsuits against it several weeks before it launched its claim against TALCO. “TALCO does not recognize these debts because they were created artificially for the purpose of seizing the enterprise (TadAZ),” said yesterday’s press release by TALCO, “The major part of debt on RUSAL’s lawsuits duplicates TALCO’s debt to Norway’s Hydro Aluminium that has already been cleared off.”
