Strabag, an HS2 contractor, announced that its core family shareholder has terminated their syndicate agreement in place with Rasperia Trading Ltd, which is owned by Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska
The syndicate agreement with Rasperia Trading, which is 28% owned by the Russian oligarch, had been in effect since 2007.
Strabag is part of a consortium with a £2bn contract with London HS2 and has officially now been added to a list of sanctioned people in the UK.
Earlier this week, Sarah Green, MP for Chesham and Amersham wrote a letter to HS2’s CEO Mark Thurston requesting to cut ties with the company.
“Deeply inappropriate that Strabag continues to undertake work on the HS2 project”
In her letter, Green stated: “Given Mr. Deripaska’s significant stake in the company, and his close ties to those currently waging an illegal war in Ukraine, I believe it is deeply inappropriate that Strabag continues to undertake work on the HS2 project.”
In a statement released on 15 March, Strabag announced that its main family shareholder Haselsteiner Familien-Privatstiftung, was cutting ties with Rasperia Trading Ltd.
Strabag welcomes severed ties with Russian oligarch
Thomas Birtel, CEO of Strabag commented: “The Management Board welcomes the step taken by our core shareholder, the Haselsteiner family foundation, to achieve clarity by terminating the syndicate agreement.
“On the part of the management, we are prepared to take all legally possible measures to avert any harm to the company. In view of the sanctions currently imposed by the UK and Canada, this refers in particular to the payment of dividends.
“As far as Strabag’s Russian business is concerned – currently of subordinate importance with 0.3 % of the group’s output volume – the Management Board has decided to wind up the activities in that country.”
In addition to this, Strabag has also initiated and financed extensive aid measures, especially in the most affected group countries of Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Moldova.
