[Summary translation prepared by Business & Human Rights Resource Centre]

"Krastsvetmet: top management engages in international fraud?, 18 October 2021

...Russia's largest producer of precious metals imposes strange terms of co-operation on its counterparties. This is indicated by the testimonies of business entities, which have become the object of unscrupulous behaviour, bordering on extortion and fraud, on the part of the plant's top managers. The first persons of the enterprise were involved in the scandal.

In August, Izvestia published a story by representatives of Katalizatoroff group of companies, which collects and recycles automotive catalytic converters. According to the representatives of Katalizatoroff, they faced extortion from the precious metals producer. They received demands from the employees of Krastsvetmet to pay kickbacks and transfer shares in the business, otherwise they threatened to significantly reduce purchase prices, as well as to stop accepting waste and terminate contracts. After refusing to fulfil the conditions, Katalizatoroff started to have problems.