Time is running out for Oleg Deripaska, on paper Russia's richest man with an estimated fortune of $28bn, to secure more than $2bn in financing to repay part of a $4.5bn loan to western banks or hand over a 25 per cent stake in the world's biggest nickel miner to creditors.
Mr 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.
