“Uralkalij”: Lukashenka has harmed Uralkalij’s reputation and its business

Russian potash giant expresses regrets in regard to the statements of the Belarusian authorities.

“Uralkalij regrets the disparaging and factually inaccurate statements about its business and financial reporting that have been made by the Belarusian authorities”, - says the Uralkalij official statement.

The company emphasizes that its financial statements have been audited and certified in accordance with international standards by one of the world’s leading accounting firms.

Paul J. Ostling, the independent Chairman of Uralkalij’s Audit Committee, notes as follows:

“Uralkalij is committed to transparency and accuracy in its financial reporting. The three independent members of the Audit Committee monitor the Company’s financial reporting and receive reports directly from Uralkalij’s independent outside auditors. The Company’s financial statements consistently have been certified without reservation under international standards. We therefore conclude that the statements by the Belarusian authorities are inaccurate and part of an ongoing campaign of disinformation designed to harm Uralkalij’s reputation and its business”.

According to Yury Ushakov, presidential foreign-policy adviser, Russia expects Belarus to soon hand over the general director of Russia's Uralkalij potash-producing company. 

As RFE/RL informs, Belarusian President Aliaksandr Lukashenka, who is scheduled to meet with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, today, on September 23, said on September 19 that Vladislav Baumgertner could be extradited to Russia if Moscow joined in the investigations against him and the ownership of Uralkalij was changed to restore stronger Belarusian commercial links.

"If Russian investigators are interested in the extradition of the detainee in question, I don't see any particular barriers here," reports BelaPAN Lukashenka’s words. "We're absolutely not holding on to him, if they deal with the case according to law. The damage on that side is immense, and it can be seen with the naked eye. Therefore, if this suddenly becomes necessary, we shouldn't get in the way. We should do everything for this conflict and whatever stands behind it to be probed together with Russians. And what stands behind it are certain high-ranking crooks in the Russian Federation and a multi-billion amount of money lost by Belarus and Russia."

Let us recall that Mr. Baumgertner was arrested on August 26 as he was about to fly out of Minsk after a meeting with Belarusian Prime Minister Mikhail Miasnikovich. Pavel Travulka, spokesman for the Investigative Committee of Belarus, told BelaPAN after the arrest that Mr. Baumgertner, who chaired the supervisory board of Belarusian Potash Company (BPC), was suspected of power abuse and so were more Russian executives who combined their Uralkalij jobs with high-ranking positions with BPC. A few days later, Belarusian authorities instituted criminal proceedings against Russian billionaire and Uralkalij's top shareholder Suleiman Kerimov. The case is linked to Uralkalij's July 30 decision to de facto quit BPC, its joint trading arm with Belarusian potash giant Belaruskalij. Minsk claims that the collapse of the Belarusian-Russian potash sales cartel has caused severe economic damage to Belarus. On September 16, Aleksandr Zvyagintsev, Russian Deputy Prosecutor General, announced that the Investigative Committee of Belarus would hand over the investigation of a criminal case against top executives with Uralkalij to the Russian Prosecutor General's Office.