Ferrexpo owner Zhevago steps down from board after arrest

Ukrainian iron ore pellets producer Ferrexpo Plc (LON: FXPO) said on Tuesday that its owner and non-executive director, Kostyantin Zhevago, has resigned from the company’s board following his detention in France for alleged money laundering.

The resignation of the billionaire, who was arrested at a hotel in the luxury French ski resort Courchevel on December 27, was effective two days later, the company said.

Zhevago was wanted for allegedly embezzling and money-laundering linked to the disappearance of $113 million from Finance & Credit, his former bank that went bankrupt in 2015.

Ferrexpo noted that Zhevago was entitled to appoint a non-executive director to the board as his representative, but he hasn’t exercised this right.

The mogul, a member of Ukraine’s parliament from 1998 to 2019, stepped down as the Ferrexpo’s chief executive in late 2019 amid an investigation by Ukraine’s state prosecutor office.

Zhevago has denied any wrongdoing, while the firm has stressed that the detention of the businessman was tied to matters unrelated to the company.