US Edition 
ENRC in talks with SFO over corruption allegations
Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC) is in talks with the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) about allegations of corruption at subsidiaries of the FTSE 100 mining group.
ENRC stressed that the SFO has not opened a formal investigation into the company but confirmed discussions were being held as part of its own inquiries into the claims.
ENRC is investigating allegations made by lawyers on its own audit committee that money has been siphoned off from SSGPO, an ENRC offshoot that runs an iron ore business in Kazakhstan. In addition, ENRC is involved in a legal row over a copper mining operation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The SFO is believed not only to be looking for details about allegations of corruption within the Kazakh operation, but also about the disputed purchase of the Congo copper business and the way in which ENRC’s African offshoots are run. Reportedly, the audit committee’s lawyers have further complained that attempts to uncover the truth at SSGPO have been obstructed.
According to The Sunday Times, ENRC and its advisers were summoned to a meeting at the SFO, where they faced director Richard Alderman and two of his colleagues.
At those meetings, the SFO is alleged to have warned ENRC that it reserved the right to raid the offices of directors and executives if the company fails to co-operate.
The miner, whose board has been riven by disputes about interference from its billionaire Kazakh oligarch founders, has reportedly been told to hand over details of the internal investigations into the operations in Kazakhstan and the DRC.
A spokesman for ENRC said: “There is no formal SFO investigation into the company”. He added: “There was nothing new in the [Sunday Times] story. The internal audit committee investigations and liaison with appropriate regulators, including the SFO, is entirely normal practice for a major company that is serious about investigating all allegations properly and striving to meet corporate governance best practice.”
The SFO did not return calls for comment.
The SFO’s inquiry comes as the FTSE Group will this week publish the results of a consultation launched last month about tightening entry requirements for its UK indices.
A growing number of Russian companies are looking to float in London with small free floats, such as gold producer Polyus Gold.
Some investors have become wary of these types of companies as they have large founder-shareholders that can dominate the business.
The corporate governance scandal that erupted at ENRC has also made investors nervous about companies from the former Soviet bloc joining the FTSE indices.