Ex-wife of US-sanctioned Russian billionaire confirms deal with UAE wealth fund

The former wife of a US-sanctioned Russian millionaire has sold a stake in a power and aluminium company to the United Arab Emirates.

Polina Yumasheva, the ex-wife of Oleg Deripaska sold a 2.6 percent stake in En+ Group International PJSC to sovereign fund Mubadala Investment Co.

Abu Dhabi's wealth fund is paying some $200 million for a stake in the company, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.

This makes Mubadala's share ownership of the multi-billion-dollar company at 2.86 percent.

"En+ has made significant progress in recent years and is well positioned to generate sustainable value for stakeholders," said Faris Sohail Al Mazrui, head of Mubadala’s Russia & CIS investment program.

En+ "is a market leader in the clean energy and aluminium sectors, and is a welcome addition to Mubadala's growing and successful portfolio in Russia", he added.

In 2018 En+ was sanctioned, along with United Co. Rusal, by the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control in 2018 over Russia's "worldwide malign activities".

The Treasury said it would lift sanctions on Deripaska’s companies in January 2019 if he agreed to step back from running his businesses, and although he owns some 45 percent of En+, under the deal he could only vote with 35 percent of the shares.

Mubadala has a stake in Emirates Global Aluminium, which operates aluminium smelters in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

This deal is one of the biggest in Russia for Mubadala, and the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has been notified of the sale, En+ added.