Key facts
- Ukraine's asset recovery agency is attempting to seize control of IDS Ukraine, a major bottled water producer.
- The company has a 49% stake held by Russian investors, including sanctioned oligarch Mikhail Fridman.
- The Patarkatsishvili family, prominent in British theatre, holds a 34% stake and is contesting the seizure.
- Ukrainian authorities cite concerns over potential money laundering and value extraction from IDS Ukraine.
- The Patarkatsishvili family states they are being unfairly targeted and will seek justice in international courts if necessary.
Ukrainian authorities are engaged in a legal battle to seize control of IDS Ukraine, a company producing Ukraine's largest bottled water brands, due to its ownership ties with a sanctioned Russian oligarch and the family of a British theatre impresario.
The dispute centers on the Patarkatsishvili family's 34% stake in IDS Ukraine. The company's corporate holdings were frozen in 2022 because of a 49% stake held by Russian investors, including Mikhail Fridman, founder of the Alfa Group conglomerate, who faces Western sanctions for supporting Vladimir Putin's regime.
Ukraine's Asset Recovery and Management Agency (Arma) has been tasked with overseeing the company, but has encountered legal and bureaucratic hurdles, partly due to shareholder resistance. Arma's head, Yaroslava Maksymenko, also claimed the agency was subjected to a cyber-attack during an attempt to appoint an independent manager, though no evidence links the Patarkatsishvili family to this. Maksymenko also alleged that the investment vehicle for the Patarkatsishvili family's stake, New World Value Fund Limited, had made unfounded claims of misconduct against Arma officials.
An investigation by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine into claims of unlawful conduct is ongoing. Maksymenko expressed concerns about potential money laundering and value extraction from IDS Ukraine under its current management, although no official findings of criminality have been made.
Separate proceedings are underway in Ukraine's anti-corruption high court, where shareholders are challenging attempts to nationalize IDS Ukraine, which is considered a key strategic asset during wartime. A spokesperson for the Patarkatsishvili family stated their commitment to Ukraine since the 2022 invasion and asserted they are being unfairly targeted. They indicated that if they cannot achieve justice through Ukrainian courts, they will seek it in international courts, as they have done previously.
The Patarkatsishvili family's shareholding was inherited in 2008 following the death of businessman Badri Patarkatsishvili. Liana, her sister Iya, and mother Inna are the current beneficiaries. Badri Patarkatsishvili, who amassed a fortune during the Soviet Union's breakup, died in the UK in 2008 with an estimated £6 billion fortune. Last year, Iya Patarkatsishvili and her husband gained attention for receiving a refund on a £32 million London mansion reportedly infested with moths. Liana Patarkatsishvili recently produced an immersive theatre production titled 'Storehouse'.
A spokesperson for IDS Ukraine stated that the company has operated in compliance with Ukrainian law and that no state authority has found evidence of money laundering or other financial misconduct. They also refuted any connection between the company and the alleged cyber-attack, calling the information false and irrelevant. The spokesperson added that IDS Ukraine has not ceased operations since the invasion and has continued supplying water amidst attacks.