RUSAL files suit in Krasnoyarsk arbitration court in connection with Norilsk Nickel’s failure to provide AGM voting ballots

RUSAL (SEHK: 486, EuroNext: RUSAL/RUAL), the world’s largest aluminium producer and owner of a 25% stake in MMC Norilsk Nickel ‘MMC’), announced that it has filed a suit against MMC in the Krasnoyarsk arbitration court in connection with its failure to provide the voting ballots used at the annual general shareholders’ meeting, held on 28 June 2010.

The management of MMC, contrary to article 91 of the Federal Law on Joint Stock Companies, did not provide RUSAL with the voting ballots used at the AGM.

On 5 July 2010, RUSAL sent a request to the General Director of MMC to provide copies of the voting ballots, which must have been made in accordance with the above-mentioned article of the Federal Law within seven days upon receipt of such request. After seven days, RUSAL received a letter from MMC, where it was reported that the copies of the ballots would be available within two days. On the ninth day, RUSAL received a letter stating that the papers had been submitted to the Federal Committee of Securities Markets, with no explanation why the requested copies had not been made. Then it turned out that the ballots are being kept at MMC, but RUSAL has not yet received an opportunity to examine them.

Examination of the voting ballots will allow RUSAL to identify violations, which they believe had been made by the management of MMC during the AGM.

Once RUSAL has received access to the voting ballots and identified violations they intend to seek protection of its shareholder rights and to restore corporate governance standards in the interest of all shareholders of MMC Norilsk Nickel.