Sanctions bite: London-listed Russian mining firm Petropavlovsk to suspend trading and file for administration

London-listed Russian gold mining firm Petropavlovsk will cease trading and file for administration after revealing it was unable to repay a $201m (£169.3m) loan to a sanctioned bank.

Sanctions against Kremlin-linked firms continued to bite this week, with the Petropavlovsk in debt to Gazprombank, that has been targeted over the war in Ukraine.

The bank demanded immediate repayment of a loan in April this year, but Petropavlovsk said it was unable to repay it.

The company will stop the trading of its shares in London and Moscow and is filing for administration in a London court, it announced today.

Petropavlovsk is considering selling its interests in its operating subsidiaries and is in discussions with two parties on possible acquisitions.

“There can be no certainty that either will result in a sale and it is highly unlikely that there will be any return to shareholders given the level of the Group’s indebtedness,” the company said.

Petropavlovsk had previously said in March this year that Gazprombank’s inclusion on the UK’s sanctions list after the Russia-Ukraine war made it unable to sell gold or repay the loan.

Petropavlovsk had assets, listed at book value, of about $1,619 million; liabilities of $1,703 million; and net liabilities of $84 million as at 30 June 2022. These are management estimates and have not been audited or independently reviewed.