A billionaire Russian shareholder in Limerick's Aughinish Alumina plant is facing up to 20 years in jail in the US for violating sanctions imposed after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The refinery in the Shannon estuary, which converts bauxite into alumina, employs 482 workers for €47million and contributes €140million a year to the economy. It is Europe's biggest alumina refinery, producing about a third of the EU's needs.
Oleg Deripaska is the biggest shareholder in EN+, which has a significant stake in Rusal, the owner of the Aughinish plant.
Mr Deripaska is currently subject to EU sanctions over his relationship with the Kremlin. However, Aughinish Alumina and its parent company are not subject to EU sanctions.
The Sunday Times reported in May that the Government had met with a former British government minister to discuss his planned takeover of the refinery in Limerick to protect it against Russian sanctions.
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It has now emerged that Mr Deripaska has been indicted for evading US sanctions and the obstruction of justice.
He is accused of conspiring to violate and evade US sanctions, in violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which has a maximum 20-year term.
Last April, it was reported that a boat associated with Mr Deripaska was spotted off the coast of Turkey.
In late September, the US Department of Justice unsealed an indictment charging the billionaire and several others with violating US sanctions imposed earlier this year in response to Russia's unprovoked military invasion.
On October 3, the United States Supreme Court denied an appeal by Mr Deripaska to get the sanctions against him lifted.
According to the court documents, Mr Deripaska and three others were charged with conspiring to violate US sanctions imposed on Mr Deripaska and one of his corporate entities, Basic Element Limited (Basic Element).
US Attorney General Merrick Garland said at the time: "In the wake of Russia's unjust and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, I promised the American people that the Justice Department would work to hold accountable those who break our laws and threaten our national security.
"Today's charges demonstrate we are keeping that promise. The Justice Department will not stop working to identify, find, and bring to justice those who evade US sanctions in order to enable the Russian regime."
Lisa Monaco, the US deputy attorney general, said the charges revealed that Mr Deripaska had sought to circumvent US sanctions through "lies and deceit" to cash in on and benefit from the American way of life.
"But shell companies and webs of lies will not shield Deripaska and his cronies from American law enforcement, nor will they protect others who support the Putin regime," she warned.
"The Department of Justice remains dedicated to the global fight against those who aid and abet the Russian war machine."
Mr Deripaska had been subjected to economic sanctions in 2018 and was deemed a Specially Designated National over the actions of the Russian government.
In a statement, the US justice department said: "Deripaska was sanctioned [in 2018] for having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, a senior official of the government of the Russian Federation, as well as for operating in the energy sector of the Russian Federation economy."
