Polymetal International PLC on Monday said six board members, including its chair, have departed en masse, as the London-listed Russian gold miner grips with the fallout from the invasion of Ukraine.
Elsewhere, compatriot steel maker Evraz PLC said another board member has stepped down, while energy EN+ Group IPJSC said a UK Conservative Party politician has resigned as its chair.
At Polymetal, Chair Ian Cockerill is among the six board members to step down.
Ollie Oliveira, Tracey Kerr, Italia Boninelli, Victor Flores and Andrea Abt, all non-executive directors, also have left effective immediately. Oliveira is Polymetal’s senior independent director.
The exodus means Polymetal’s only remaining directors are Independent Non-Executive Director Giacomo Baizini, Non-Independent Non-Executive Director Konstantin Yanakov, and Chief Executive Vitaly Nesis, an executive director.
Yanakov is a representative from Powerboom Investments Ltd. Powerboom is owned by the brother of Polymetal CEO Nesis.
Polymetal itself gave no reason for the six departures.
On Thursday, the Institute of Directors said it was ‘no longer tenable’ for British people to hold board roles at Russian companies.
‘Although directors owe legal duties to the companies on whose boards they serve, they should also feel a stronger moral duty to uphold the fundamental values of freedom and democracy. We believe that it is no longer tenable for British directors to be involved in governance roles in the Russian economy. Therefore, we hope that they will now question the viability of their mandates in Russian and Belarusian companies,’ IOD Director General Jonathan Geldart said.
Russian steelmaker Evraz has lost another member of the board. It said Sandra Stash has resigned as non-executive director, effective immediately. On Friday, Evraz said James Rutherford, who also is chair of Egyptian gold miner Centamin PLC, had resigned.
Russian aluminium firm EN+ said Gregory Barker, who has been chair since the company floated in London in 2021 and executive chair since 2019, has resigned, handing over to Christopher Bancroft Burnham, who is currently senior independent director. Joan MacNaughton also has resigned as an independent director of EN+
Barker is a member of the UK House of Lords and was a Conservative member of parliament in the House of Commons between 2001 and 2015.
In addition, EN+ said it is ‘reviewing’ the strategy of listed investee UC Rusal.
‘Options under consideration include the possibility of carving out Rusal’s international business. The group wishes to emphasise that the strategic review is at a preliminary stage and any future course of action will be subject to further consideration as well as discussions with the relevant regulatory bodies and key stakeholders,’ the company explained.
Polymetal shares rose 33% to 224.60 pence each in London on Monday morning. The stock has fallen by 80% since Russia mounted its invasion of Ukraine, however. Evraz was up 53% to 91.80p but also remains down 80%.
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