UC Rusal rejects Guinea claim for unpaid tax

Russian aluminium company UC Rusal has rejected a claim by Guinea’s mines minister that it owes at least $860 million in unpaid taxes and said it aims to “protect its rights” in the West African nation. “The company has not received official notification about these tax claims and does not recognise them,” UC Rusal said in a statement. “UC Rusal is a good-faith investor and one of the largest taxpayers and employers in Guinea.”

Earlier, the Mines Minister said  that an international auditing firm which it hired to inspect UC Rusal’s operations in Guinea, had informed his ministry that the company owed at least $860 million. He said Guinea suspected UC Rusal of exaggerating the cost of operations in order to pay lower taxes.

Mining firms have had a rocky time in Guinea, the world’s gest bauxite exporter, since the December 2008 coup that followed the death of veteran ruler Lansana Conte. Rusal has said that in February 2010 it agreed with the Guinean government to establish a joint high-level commission aimed at providing a stable basis for long-term cooperation.

(These items have been taken from reports, reviews and studies
published by various news services.)