By John Helmer in Moscow   Confucius say – why buy a treasure from a man, if you can wait for him to lose it. The turmoil now affecting Oleg Deripaska’s United Company Rusal has become a critical test of the difference between the Russian and Chinese approach to resource concessions and national company value. […]

by John Helmer - Friday, November 20th, 2009
No Comments »

By John Helmer in Moscow A hitherto unknown Russian, believed to have intelligence connexions in Africa, has made contact with the Guinean government in a bid to save the Russian bauxite and alumina concessions in the country. The move, orchestrated in Paris this month, is the first indication to date of French moves afoot to […]

by John Helmer - Wednesday, October 28th, 2009
No Comments »

By John Helmer in Moscow The Guinean government in Conakry has decided not to despatch a Foreign Ministry delegation to Moscow for the time being, while it gives negotiators from Russia’s aluminium monopoly, United Company Rusal, the chance to discuss privatisation, tax and accountingclaims next week. Guinean sources have told Business Day that a planned […]

by John Helmer - Wednesday, October 14th, 2009
No Comments »

By John Helmer in Moscow The test of a rising empire is how far from home it will go to take wealth from the natives. The test of a declining empire is how much more it will spend on keeping the natives down than being there is worth. By this standard, Russian Aluminium (Rusal) in […]

by John Helmer - Friday, October 2nd, 2009
No Comments »

By John Helmer in Moscow The Guinean Government in Conakry says it has enough evidence to launch a new court claim against Russian aluminium company, Rusal, for at least $1 billion. A local court filing is expected shortly, government sources in Conakry say, citing evidence of inflated costs and allegations of manipulation of financial accounts […]

by John Helmer - Wednesday, September 30th, 2009
No Comments »

By John Helmer in Moscow A secret meeting in the middle of the night in the presidential palace in the Guinean capital of Conakry, requested by the Russian aluminium oligarch Oleg Deripaska, has triggered a Guinean court ruling and a tax investigation of claims amounting to $700 million. The claims catapult the Guinean government and […]

by John Helmer - Thursday, September 24th, 2009
No Comments »

By John Helmer in Moscow Mahmoud Thiam, the US-trained banker turned resource policymaker for the Guinean government (pictured right), says that the nine-month review he has initiated of the country’s major mineral and mining concessions is not intended to reopen or renege on every deal done with foreign miners during the 25-year rule of Lansana […]

by John Helmer - Thursday, September 24th, 2009
No Comments »

By John Helmer in Moscow Canada has refused an entry visa for Mikhail Margelov, the Kremlin’s special representative to Africa. The reason, according to Canadian sources, is Margelov’s past connexions to the KGB, the Soviet intelligence agency. While officially, the Canadian Embassy in Moscow and government in Ottawa refuse to comment publicly on individual visa […]

by John Helmer - Sunday, September 13th, 2009
No Comments »

By John Helmer in Moscow A Republic of Guinea tribunal ruled this week in Conakry that United Company Rusal, one of the largest bauxite, alumina and aluminum producers in the world, unlawfully acquired its shareholding control of the Friguia alumina refinery in the country in 2006, and should make restitution. The judgement comes before the […]

by John Helmer - Friday, September 11th, 2009
No Comments »

By John Helmer in Moscow The Russian government and the association representing Russian grain exporters in Moscow appear to have backed down from claims that Egypt wrongfully seized several cargoes of Russian wheat last month. Until now, the public position, according to Arkady Zlochevsky, spokesman for the Russian Grain Union, was that Egyptian claims to […]

by John Helmer - Thursday, June 4th, 2009
No Comments »