ENRC
Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation; mining group, past Black Cube client according to the Financial Times
| ENRC (Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation)
| |
|---|---|
| Type | Mining group, formerly listed in London |
| Industry | Mining |
ENRC (Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation) is a mining group that was once among the most valuable companies listed in London. The UK Serious Fraud Office investigated it between 2013 and 2023; the SFO says the investigation concluded without charges (September 2026), and ENRC denies wrongdoing.[1] In February 2021 the Financial Times reported that it had in the past retained the Israeli private intelligence firm Black Cube.
The Financial Times described ENRC as "a mining house controlled by Central Asian oligarchs" that "was once among the most valuable companies listed in London but is now fighting a long-running investigation by the UK Serious Fraud Office. ENRC denies any wrongdoing."[2] In 2022 OCCRP called it "the Kazakh mining company ENRC" and said it had "been under investigation in the U.K. for almost a decade over allegedly corrupt mining deals in Congo".[3]
Black Cube
The same Financial Times article, an interview with the Black Cube adviser and former City of London Police commissioner Adrian Leppard, reported: "In the past, Black Cube was also retained by ENRC." It did not say what the work was or when it took place. The article also reported that the mining businessman Beny Steinmetz had been a client, and quoted Leppard calling him a "historic" client. Leppard himself is not quoted on ENRC, and he declined to discuss specific cases.[2] No further detail of the ENRC engagement has been found in the sources reviewed for this page.
Serious Fraud Office statement, September 2026
The lead and the 2021–22 press quotations above describe the position when they were written. On 2 September 2026 the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) published a news release, "ENRC litigation concluded", which says:[1]
- "Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation Limited, the Director of the Serious Fraud Office, Dechert LLP and David Neil Gerrard have concluded the proceedings between them on terms which are confidential."
- "Between 2013 and 2023, the SFO investigated Kazakh mining company ENRC over suspected bribery and corruption linked to mining assets in the Democratic Republic of Congo and elsewhere. The investigation concluded without charges due to insufficient admissible evidence."
- "ENRC brought a civil claim against its former lawyers in 2017 and the SFO in 2019. The court found the SFO was in breach of its duties, including engaging with and taking unauthorised information between 2011 and 2013. The court also found that, but for this conduct, the investigation would not have opened."
The release quotes the SFO's Director of Legal Services, Matthew Wagstaff: "We are confident that the SFO's wrongdoing between 2011 and 2013 could never happen again. The SFO is a fundamentally different organisation. We have overhauled how we operate with stronger governance, independent oversight and clearer safeguards."[1] These are the SFO's own statements of the court's findings; Powerbase has not read the judgments, and the terms of the settlement are confidential. The release does not include a statement from ENRC.
Companies House record
The group's UK company is Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation Limited (company number 06023510), the name used in the SFO release. Companies House records it as incorporated on 8 December 2006 as Eurasian Natural Resources Company Plc, renamed Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation Plc on 11 December 2006 and has had its current name, Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation Limited, since 16 January 2014. It is an active private limited company, with nature of business "07100 – Mining of iron ores" and latest accounts to 31 December 2025.[4]
Companies House shows that the Committee of the State Property and Privatization of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Kazakhstan was a person with significant control, holding more than 25% but not more than 50% of the shares and voting rights and the right to appoint or remove directors, from 6 April 2016 until 14 November 2023. From 14 November 2023 it records a statement that the company knows of no registrable person or relevant legal entity.[4] TMF Corporate Administration Services Limited has been company secretary since 29 May 2013. Olga Walsh was appointed a director on 25 August 2026, the day Felix Jeff Vulis, a director since 20 August 2009, resigned; Companies House lists 35 officers in all, 33 of them resigned.[4] Powerbase has not examined the accounts.
See also
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Serious Fraud Office, ENRC litigation concluded, GOV.UK news release, 2 September 2026, accessed 11 November 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Kadhim Shubber and Tom Burgis, Black Cube executive says UK austerity helped business, Financial Times, 5 February 2021.
- ↑ Clément Fayol, Antoine Harari and Pete Jones, "I Will Take My Percentage": Congolese Presidential Adviser Caught on Tape Negotiating Corrupt Mineral Deal, OCCRP, 15 September 2022.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Companies House, Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation Limited (06023510): overview, officers, persons with significant control, filing history and charges, accessed 11 November 2026.