Employees of the Ministry of the Interior and the Federal Security Service carried out a dozen and a half searches at the offices of the Baltika brewing company and at its address. As a result, two senior managers were arrested. They were suspected of having transferred the rights to the company’s brands to Baltika’s owner, the Danish Carlsberg group, Fontanka reports.
Another suspect managed to leave Russia. A criminal case has been opened for large-scale fraud (part 4 of article 159 of the Criminal Code). The maximum penalty for this crime is 10 years in prison.
In March 2022, Carlsberg announced its withdrawal from the Russian market. The company’s losses from this measure amounted to $630 million in August 2022. In June 2023, the Danish manufacturer announced that it had signed an agreement to sell its Russian business, but did not reveal who the buyer was.
But the following month, Vladimir Putin signed a decree according to which the shares of Danone and Baltika were placed under the control of the Federal Property Management Agency.
Later, Carlsberg CEO Jacob Arup-Andersen said the Russian government had stolen the manufacturer’s business in the Russian Federation: “We cannot deny the fact that our business in Russia was stolen.”
The Finance Ministry rejected the accusation that Carlsberg was stealing its business. The department indicated that the company is not owned by the State, but has been transferred to the temporary management of the Federal Property Management Agency, which does not imply a change in the ownership structure.
Author:
Karina Pardaeva
Source: RB
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