MOSCOW, (Reuters) – The United States has given no explanation for denying an entry visa to Russia’s fifth richest man, aluminium tycoon Oleg Deripaska, despite repeatedly being pressed to do so, Russia’s Foreign Minister said yesterday.
Deripaska, 42, ranked fifth-richest Russian by Forbes magazine, with assets of $10.7 billion, has strong Kremlin backing and is chief executive officer and biggest shareholder in the world’s top aluminium producer, RUSAL.
The U.S. State Department revoked Deripaska’s multiple-entry visa without explanation in 2006, when relations between Washington and Moscow were at a post-Cold War low. “(The U.S. side) is totally unable to explain to us why he … is not given a visa,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters in Moscow.
“This issue has been repeatedly raised by the Russian leadership,” he added.
Seen as one of the more loyal oligarchs, the Kremlin stepped in to save Deripaska’s indebted businesses during the height of the economic crisis, refinanced his heavy debts, and has long called on Washington to grant him a U.S. visa.
