Russia’s Prosecutor General's Office has demanded courts recognise vodka magnate Yuri Shefler and his companies as an “extremist organisation,” and has begun the process of confiscating the billionaire's assets in Russia in favour of the state, RIA Novosti reported on July 3.

The Russian-born Shefler took control of the international “Stolichnaya” vodka brand in the 1990s and distributes it international but has been in dispute with the Russian parent company that has been trying to regain control of the lucrative brand ever since.

As followed by bne IntelliNews in detail, since early 2000s state-controlled Soyuzplodoimport has been fighting with SPI Group controlled byYuri Shefler, who had argued that he purchased rights to the brands for $285,000 in 1997 after the breakup of the former Soviet Union. Russia previously contested the use of the brands in about 20 countries, including the US, UK, Canada and Australia.

Shefler, who lives in self-imposed exile, has also been vocal critic of the war in Ukraine and donated part of his company’s earnings to supporting Ukraine’s military efforts.

Both RIA Novosti and Kommersant  have reported on the prosecutor General’s decision, which has yet to be confirmed by the Prosecutor General's Office. The Tambov District Court where the claim was made said that the claim has not yet been satisfied.

The Prosecutor General’s Office claims that Shefler and his two Luxembourg companies - Amber Beverage Group Holdings and Stoli Group – are an extremist group working against Russia’s interests. These entities are accused of being united by “ideological and property interests that have a pronounced anti-Russian character,” operating in the EU and certain regions of Russia, with actions allegedly directed “against the life and health of Russians, the security of society and the state.”

The charges against Shefler also cite his support for Ukraine and regular denigration of Russia on social media, alongside attempts to wrest vodka brands from Soviet-era distillery Soyuzplodoimport that also claims to own the brands and has long been in disput with Shefler. The Prosecutor General’s Office claims Stolichnaya and its sister vodka brand Moskovskaya were stolen by Shefler.

In 2022, Stoli rebranded to distance itself from Russian associations, releasing a limited edition of alcohol to fundraise for Ukraine, Kommersant  reported.

Furthermore, the Amber and Stoli companies are accused of financing the “Support Ukraine” fund with at least €38mn, which was used to buy over a thousand transport units and more than a hundred thousand drones for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Additionally, the Prosecutor General’s Office said that profits from a Russian asset, the Tambov distillery JSC Amber Talvis, are funnelled abroad “in favour of members of the extremist association,” with leaked funds amounting to over RUB1.6bn ($6.8mn) from 2019–2022.

Earlier this week, the Tambov District Court, at the request of the Prosecutor General’s Office, seized the Amber Talvis distillery and the Kaliningrad SPI-RVVK plant belonging to Shefler, which will likely be confiscated, The Bell reports. The Kaliningrad plant is inactive. Talvis is a significant operational enterprise, valued by experts at RUB3–4bn, The Bell says.

The Russian authorities appear to have numerous grievances against Shefler, in addition to his support for Ukraine. the legal fight over the ownership of the Soviet-era vodka brands has been going on for years and culminated in Shefler being awarded the rights to Moskovskaya and Stolichnaya following a lawsuit brought by the oil company Yukos against Russia in 2024 after it was nationalised after Yukos owner, now opposition activist, Mikhail Khodorkovsky was jailed on fraud and tax evasion charges. Yukos’s core assets now make up the heart of the state-owned oil major Rosneft. Yukos won numerous cases against Russia seeking compensation for the expropriation of its assets, which have never been enforced.

For Shefler, the potential loss of Russian enterprises is unpleasant but not catastrophic, according to The Bell; he has resided outside Russia since 2002, holds British citizenship, and conducts business primarily in the Benelux and Baltic regions.

The attempt to confiscate “foreign assets” inside Russia is only the latest in a string of similar nationalisations. Recently, a St Petersburg court granted a similar claim to label regime critic Alexander Nevzorov and his wife Lydia Nevzorova as an extremist association, resulting in the seizure of their property. A number of major assets privatised in the 1990s have been de-facto renationalised by the state. The Russian business of Carlsberg and Danone have also been seized by the state and are now run by people close to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The State Duma has been advocating for property confiscation from foreign agents since the war began. The Prosecutor General's Office's actions demonstrate that this can occur without the need for foreign agent status, and both personal property and business assets can be confiscated. This broad interpretation of the Federal Law “On Combating Extremist Activities” has been used to carry out these confiscations.