Russian-owned Irish refinery held private talks with government over war and sanctions risks, Irish Times reports

Aughinish Alumina told senior Irish officials that Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the refinery’s links to sanctioned oligarch Oleg Deripaska had created a “challenging environment” for its operations, the Irish Times reported, citing government records obtained through a freedom-of-information request.

Minutes from a May 2023 meeting reportedly show that company executives thanked then-Enterprise Minister Simon Coveney and his department for their support during years of uncertainty, including the threat of U.S. sanctions and the economic repercussions of the war.

The refinery in Foynes, County Limerick, is owned by Russian aluminum producer Rusal and employs several hundred people. Its shipments of alumina to Russia have risen significantly since the full-scale invasion and now represent about half of the plant’s business, according to the Irish Times.

A previous investigation by the newspaper traced Aughinish alumina to Russian smelters producing aluminum that was later sold to ASK, a Moscow-based trader known to supply Russian arms and missile manufacturers. An Irish government inquiry found no proof that Aughinish’s output entered Russia’s military supply chain, but could not rule out that possibility.

Deripaska, who is sanctioned by the EU, reduced his stake in Rusal’s parent company EN+ below 50% after the United States imposed sanctions on him in 2018. The Irish government lobbied Washington at the time to protect the Limerick refinery from being blacklisted.

Ukraine and several Baltic countries have called on the EU to prohibit alumina exports to Russia. The European Commission is reportedly considering including alumina in its next sanctions package.

Aughinish manager Ciaran Kelleher told Irish officials that the refinery supplied only around 10% of the alumina Rusal used in Russia and that most aluminum produced by the company there was subsequently exported.