SARAJEVO, July 11 (RIA Novosti) – Montenegrin police have arrested the Russian financial director of the Balkan country’s biggest enterprise, co-owned by Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska's En+ group, local media reported on Thursday, quoting the police.
Russian national Dmitry Potrubach, 44, was arrested Wednesday evening while attempting to cross the border with Serbia.
Deripaska's En+ group holds a 29.3 percent stake in the plant, while the Montenegrin government holds another 29.3 percent. The plant, which produces 120,000 tons of aluminum a year and employs 1,200 people, is bankrupt according to local media.
A representative of the Russian consulate in Podgorica told RIA Novosti Potrubach was detained for 48 hours, adding it had no information about the reasons for Potrubach’s detention “because the Montenegrin authorities have not officially informed us about this.”
En+ said in a Thursday statement the company regarded Potrubach's detention as an attempt to put pressure on the plant’s legitimate shareholders and investors.
“En+ Group considers as inadmissible and unacceptable the practice of a criminal prosecution by the Montenegrin authorities of representatives of foreign investors on absurd accusations,” the company said.
Potrubach is accused of stealing electricity from the European power system, a charge the company considers as absurd, En+ said. Local daily Pobjeda said the amount of electricity involved was worth 9.64 million euros.