OREANDA-NEWS. August 07, 2008. In April and May of 2008, Mr. M. Prokhorov failed to fulfill his obligations to Mr. V. Potanin to close a number of transactions in relation to shares of Norilsk Nickel and Polyus Gold. In this context, Mr. V. Potanin and Interros are currently neither preparing nor performing any transactions with him, reported the press-centre of Interros.   

We consider public announcements made by the Onexim group to be misleading to the market; they are aimed at manipulating the share price. Therefore, Interros, as a shareholder of Norilsk Nickel, has proposed that the Company makes a request to the regulatory authorities in order to obtain a formal evaluation of Mr. M. Prokhorov's actions in his capacity as a member of the Board of Directors of Norilsk Nickel.

We regard Rusal's statements in relation Norilsk Nickel and Interros as unacceptable for a shareholder of a public company. Rusal, which has yet to sign a Confidentiality Agreement that was sent to it a few months ago by Norilsk Nickel, has now resorted to the tactic of publicly discrediting the company. Such actions lead to an erosion in value of Norilsk Nickel and, ultimately, harm its shareholders.