The U.S. Treasury Department has again extended a deadline for Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska to reduce his holdings in the aluminum company Rusal before sanctions take effect.
The Treasury Department said Friday that licenses allowing Rusal to continue doing business would be extended from Dec. 12 to Jan. 7.
The department said in April that it would impose sanctions on Deripaska and several companies in which he is a large shareholder, citing "malign activities" by Russia.
However, the agency has pushed back the sanction deadline multiple times since then as it works with the companies, who are looking to find new shareholders.
Rusal and its parent En+ Group have been taking steps to change their management to people not linked with Deripaska to ease the sanctions. Both companies recently appointed new chief executive officers.
Concerns about the impact of sanctions on Rusal have roiled aluminum markets.
Rusal is the world's largest aluminum producer outside China's Hongqiao and is a large supplier to the aerospace and automotive industries.
