Time is running out for Russia's richest man on paper to secure more than $2bn (£1.15bn) in financing to repay part of a $4.5bn loan to western banks before the end of this month or hand to creditors a 25 per cent stake in the world's biggest nickel miner.

Oleg Deripaska's race to meet creditors' calls before the end of October highlights the growing pressure on his vast empire amid the global credit crisis, which has sent Russian stocks down more than 70 per cent since their peak in May.