Ferrexpo shares fall on court restrictions for subsidiaries

Shares Ferrexpo fell on Tuesday after the iron ore pellet maker said a court had stopped the transfer of ownership and other share-related corporate rights of the company's Ukraine subsidiaries.

"It is understood that the restrictions are part of an ongoing series of legal proceedings against Kostyantin Zhevago relating to Bank Finance & Credit and are not related to the Ferrexpo Group," the company said in a London Stock Exchange filing.

Zhevago, Ferrexpo's founder and biggest shareholder with 49.5%, faces challenges from Ukrainian authorities trying to recover assets in a clampdown on corruption, a pre-condition for joining the European Union.

The billionaire in January won a bid to throw out a London lawsuit over allegations he embezzled money from the now bankrupt lender Finance & Credit Bank.

Ukrainian prosecutors have also taken action in the Ukrainian courts against Zhevago and frozen shares held by Ferrexpo, in its three Ukrainian subsidiaries. The restrictions announced on Tuesday were separate to those under the share freezes, Ferrexpo said.

It added that it had "no intention, and never has had any intention of transferring shares in its subsidiaries" and was assessing potential legal and other remedies available and would "vigorously defend its rights".