Helsingin Sanomat on Tuesday wrote that it has seen the documents quoted by the radio channel, which show that they contain a list of Russian companies highlighted in red or green depending on whether Metso Outotec deems them to be subject to sanctions or not.
Most of the more than a hundred companies are highlighted in green, including Metalloinvest and Udokan Copper. Almost half (49%) of both companies’ shares are owned by oligarch Alisher Usmanov, who is on the sanctions list of both the EU and the US.
European Union describes Usmanov as one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s favorite oligarchs.
Vauramo on Tuesday stressed to YLE that Metso Outotec has conducted a sanctions-related evaluation of all its customers and deliveries.
“We have done our own internal evaluations and used external international law firms that have evaluated the sanctions from the perspective of different legal systems,” he commented to the public broadcasting company.
Metso Outotec, he added, has continued deliveries only to customers who are not subject to Russian sanctions. Deliveries have been resumed in line with commitments in the dismantling agreements it entered into after the attack. The company plans to close its operations in the country in the coming months.
“We have had numerous agreements there, which of course were signed before the start of the war,” Vauramo said.
“After the approval of the sanctions, we have updated the situation and continued our deliveries based on the unloading agreements to the extent that the sanctions and other export regulations have made it possible.”
In April-June, Metso Outotec made deliveries to Russia worth approximately EUR 67 million. The company has not disclosed the names of the recipients.
Mikael SwedenA lawyer from the International Public Law Unit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told YLE that EU sanctions bind citizens and companies of 27 countries. The sanctions system prohibits deliberate and intentional participation in, for example, activities that aim at or may lead to the direct or indirect use of assets by a person or entity mentioned in the sanctions list.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the cancellation of sanctions can be punishable according to Chapter 46 §§ 1–3 of the Criminal Code.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
Source: The Nordic Page