In the opinion of Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, his automaking company GAZ could be forced to close by the summer if the United States does not revome the sanctions. Perhaps, July 4 could be the last working day for the company, said Deripaska to journalists during an organised visit on Tuesday, April 16, to the auto giant’s sprawling plant.
He particularly said, “If the factory is not able to return to normal business after Jul 4, then there is no chance it can survive."
The US Treasury has lifted sanctions against EN+ group, Rusal aluminium giant and EuroSibEnergo Power Company as Deripaska has ceded control of those companies. But since the businessman is yet to cede his control of GAZ, the US has not removed the sanctions against it until now.
However, according to Deripaska, the US authorities never responded when he signalled his willing to cede control over GAZ.
GAZ is Russia’s leading maker of trucks and commercial vehicles with 40,000 employees at 13 different sites.
Deripaska said GAZ had undergone heavy losses last year when the sanctions hard-hit the company. The sanctions also weighed on GAZ’s cooperation with western companies, according to Deripaska.
The automaker uses 30 to 40 per cent foreign-made parts and has license agreements with German auto companies like Volkswagen, Mercedes, and Daimler. Some of them have stopped working, such as Daimler.
In March, the Russian oligarch had filed a lawsuit against the US Treasury claiming that his company is wrongly targeted with sanctions and that is causing his net worth to drop by US$7.5 billion, or more than 80 per cent.
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