Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is considering lifting sanctions on a Russian aluminum company.
The company in question, Rusal — majority owned by Russian billionaire and friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin Oleg Deripaska — has reportedly reached out to U.S. officials to rebuild a relationship.
Mnuchin said that the sanctions, raised in response to Russia’s malign influence actions taken during the 2016 general election, were not meant to destroy Rusal, and he had previously stated that they could be lifted if the company parted ways with Deripaska.
Deripaska lost control of the board in June.
“The company has approached us on certain de-listing issues (from the Specially Designated Nationals List),” Mnuchin said in an interview with Reuters.
“I’m not going to go into the exact specifics of what those proposals are and where we stand on them, but, yes, if we can find an acceptable solution, that is our objective.”
