Norilsk Nickel's former board chairman Alexander Voloshin will join the board of leading Russian potash miner Uralkali, he said on Thursday.
"We only discussed my joining the board. I have agreed," he told RIA Novosti. When asked if he would become chairman, he replied "We will see."
A source close to Uralkali told Vedomosti that Voloshin had already given his consent to Russian billionaire Suleiman Kerimov, the owner of Uralkali, to become chairman of the potash miner's board.
Kerimov, a senator in Russia's upper house of parliament from the North Caucasus Republic of Dagestan, was recently appointed deputy head of the working group for the creation of an international financial centre in Russia. The group is headed by Voloshin. However, an acquaintance of Voloshin told the paper that so far there could be talk only about Voloshin's work as one of Uralkali's directors.
Late in July, Vedomosti reported that Voloshin, ex-chief of staff of President Boris Yeltsin's administration, was likely to join the board of the country's top internet firm Yandex.
The paper said with reference to Yandex sources that Yandex was interested in Voloshin thanks to his contacts with high-level officials.
Voloshin lost his seat in Russia's top nickel producer Norilsk Nickel board of directors after the company's AGM in June. Russia's aluminum giant RusAl, an owner of 25 percent of Norilsk, accused Interros, another Norilsk shareholder, of ruining the parity and the board of directors of a vote fraud. RusAl also said that third persons' votes were added to elect other candidates than Voloshin.
Vedomosti did not rule out that Voloshin could regain his post of the chairman of the Norilsk Nickel board of directors now that Kerimov, the owner of large stakes in Uralkali and Silvinit, another large Russian mineral fertilizer producer, was interested in establishing a global minerals company, of which Norilsk could be part.
MOSCOW, August 19 (RIA Novosti)
