US imposed sanctions against Akhangarancement 

According to the US Department of the Treasury, the US authorities have imposed sanctions against the Akhangarancement cement plant and Akkermann Cement CA.

“Usmanov has a wide network of offshore businesses at his disposal, and through his family members, he can conduct financial transactions, which potentially allows him to circumvent sanctions,” the Finance Ministry said in a statement. 

Several structures of Alisher Usmanov also fell under US sanctions, including USM and Metalloinvest holdings, as well as the mobile operator Megafon. 

Metalloinvest is the largest iron ore company in Russia and the CIS, the world leader in iron ore reserves (more than 15 billion tons), it is 100% owned by the USM holding, which is now also under sanctions. The main co-owners are Alisher Usmanov (49%) and family members of his partner Andrey Skoch, Forbes writes. Varvara Skov and Vladimir Skoch (his daughter and father) are also included in the updated sanctions list, as is Metalloinvest CEO Nazim Efendiyev. 

The telecommunications company Megafon is included in the SDN List as part of the USM Telecom holding. There are other subsidiaries on the list - for example, Lebedinsky and Mikhailovsky mining and processing plants. 

In addition, the British companies Curzon Square Limited and Hanley Limited, all of which are associated with Alisher Usmanov, fell under the restrictions. 

It should be recalled that Akkermann Cement CA, which is a subsidiary of the Russian Akkermann Cement and is part of the USM group (controlled by Alisher Usmanov), acquired a 98.6% stake in the Akhangarancement cement plant. 

The deal was completed with financing from Gazprombank, a strategic financial partner of Akkermann Cement. 

In January 2022, Akkermann Cement CEO Konstantin Morozov said that the company’s success is based on the motivation and development of employees, the best production technologies, direct sales and technical support for its customers. 

The group of companies united under the Akkermann Cement brand is part of the diversified Russian holding USM. In 2021, the company produced about 4 million tons of cement. The main assets of the company are cement plants in Novotroitsk and Gornozavodsk, and later Akhangarancement joined them.