(Reuters) – Ukraine-focused miner Ferrexpo said on Thursday that Ukrainian tax authorities have decided to suspend the refund of value-added tax worth 456.6 million hryvnias ($11.03 million) for February to two of its Ukrainian units.
This follows a similar suspension of its January VAT refunds in March when 512.9 million hryvnias were withheld.
Ferrexpo previously said the VAT refund suspension was related to the imposition of personal sanctions on Ukrainian billionaire Kostiantyn Zhevago, who is the largest shareholder of the London-listed company.
“Personal sanctions on Zhevago should not be used as an instrument to place financial pressure on Ferrexpo,” the miner said.
Zhevago is facing allegations that he embezzled money from the now-bankrupt lender Finance & Credit Bank, in which he had a 95% indirect shareholding before its 2015 collapse.
Ferrexpo said it has undertaken significant cost-cutting measures to preserve liquidity, impacting its workforce, mining, and processing operations, among other areas.
($1 = 41.3900 hryvnias)
(Reporting by DhanushVignesh Babu in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)
