Russian aluminium giant cut out of Queensland operation to abide by sanctions, Rio Tinto says

Rio Tinto partnered with Rusal, a company Viktor Vekselberg and Oleg Deripaska hold interests in, to operate an alumina refinery in Queensland. Photograph: Lincoln Fowler/Alamy

Rio Tinto says it would have breached sanctions and illegally increased the wealth of two Russian oligarchs if it had not taken the dramatic step of cutting a Russian corporate giant out of a major Queensland alumina operation.

The Australian government’s sanctions against Russian billionaires Oleg Deripaska and Viktor Vekselberg, both allies of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, prompted a swift response from the Australian mining giant earlier this year.