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🇬🇷 Greece /Economy & Trade

Ukraine targets bottled-water producer in ownership battle involving British producer and Russian investors

From Kathimerini · () Greek

Translated from Greek and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources In the courts
  • Ukrainian authorities are pursuing control of IDS Ukraine, one of the country’s largest bottled-water producers, whose shareholders include Russian investors.
  • The dispute concerns a 34% stake held by the Patarkatsishvili family and includes allegations of cyberattack, official misconduct and possible money laundering, none of which have been officially established.
  • Separate court proceedings are examining shareholder efforts to block the nationalization of part or all of the company.

Ukraine is moving to take control of IDS Ukraine, one of the country’s biggest bottled-water producers, in a dispute involving Russian investors and a British theater producer from the wealthy Patarkatsishvili family.

The family holds a 34% stake in IDS Ukraine, which owns several of Ukraine’s leading bottled-water brands. The company also has Russian investors, including billionaire oligarch Mikhail Fridman, founder of the Russian Alfa Group. Fridman faces Western sanctions over his support for Vladimir Putin’s government.

Ukrainian authorities froze the company’s shares in 2022 because Russian investors hold 49% of the business. The case has been assigned to Ukraine’s Asset Recovery and Management Agency, known as Arma, which ordered the appointment of an independent manager for the company. Georgia’s government is also among IDS Ukraine’s minority shareholders.

Arma chief Yaroslava Maksimenko said the agency had repeatedly faced legal and bureaucratic obstacles, partly because shareholders resisted handing over control of the assets. She also said Arma suffered a cyberattack while seeking an independent manager. No evidence has established who was responsible, and the Patarkatsishvili family is not considered a suspect.

Maksimenko accused New World Value Fund Limited, the vehicle used for the family’s investment, of making an unfounded complaint alleging illegal conduct by Arma officials. She described the allegations as “disinformation.” Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau is investigating those claims. Maksimenko also warned of possible money laundering and value extraction if the company remains under its current management, but no official findings have confirmed such criminal activity. Separate proceedings before Ukraine’s High Anti-Corruption Court concern shareholder attempts to block nationalization of part or all of IDS Ukraine.

Disinformation.

· Yaroslava MaksimenkoThe Arma chief described allegations of illegal conduct by agency officials as unfounded.
About this summary

Originally published by Kathimerini in Greek. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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