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“NO ADVERSE FINDINGS have been determined” in a review of alleged breaches of sanctions by Aughinish Alumina in Co Limerick, the minister for enterprise says.
Peter Burke, whose department is responsible for enforcing such sanctions, said the independent review looked at news reports about a potential leakage of alumina from the Russian-owned plant into military supply chains.
The articles included a statement that the investigating journalists “could not track the final destination of a specific batch of Aughinish’s alumina”.
Burke said the review sought information from other bodies “within and external to the State” and engaged with the company itself, but found “no evidence corroborating the media assertions”.
“There is a lack of verifiable internal trade data within Russia since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022,” the minister said in a statement today.
“No information of a sufficient evidentiary level is currently available to confirm the assertions that alumina from Ireland is entering the supply chain of Russian military contractors.”
He said the company provided the department with data stating that no alumina produced in Limerick is used for military purposes, and is solely used in the production of aluminium for export from Russia. “However, this cannot be independently verified by the Department,” he said.
Burke added that the Department will continue to monitor events and assess any further information or reports of potential sanctions breaches that can be examined and verified, and will act accordingly.
“The Irish Government stands in lockstep with Ukraine in its defence of its borders and of its people from the illegal war of aggression that it is confronting,” he said.
The Taoiseach visited Kyiv yesterday, where he met with Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
During his latest visit to Ireland, the Ukrainian president said he was “really interested in the results of this investigation”.
Micheál Martin said on Thursday that the investigation was “almost complete” and the results would be shared with the European Commission.
“The investigation has not found concrete or definitive evidence linking the alumina to a weapons manufacturer in Russia,” he said at a joint press conference at the Mariinskyi Palace.
“That said, neither has it found definitive evidence that alumina may not be going to weapons manufacturers, so it’s difficult.”
Aughinish Alumina
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