The Russian Ministry of Finance appealed to the Arbitration Court of the Moscow Region demanding that Cyprus PASALBA Ltd and the American Roust Corp be suspended from their corporate rights at Rust Russia JSC and Russian Standard Vodka LLC, which are owned by businessman Roustam Tariko.
Russian Standard Vodka is a St. Petersburg-based alcohol production plant with an investment of $60 million and a production capacity of 4 million cases of vodka per year under the “Russian Standard” brand. Rust Russia is managed by RSW and its shareholders are PASALB (Cyprus) and ROUST (USA), with Roustam Tariko as the beneficiary.
The Russian Ministry of Finance stated that “foreign holding companies” (PASALBA LTD (Cyprus) and Roust Corporation (USA) under the conditions of anti-Russian sanctions commit actions that hinder the implementation of activities by these Russian companies. If the submitted applications are approved, the obstacles to these companies carrying out their activities in the Russian market will be removed.
Roustam Tariko’s company owns 7 vodka factories and alcohol plants, as well as a network of warehouses in Russia. The group also has logistics centers and offices in major cities in Russia, Western Europe, and the United States, as well as an extensive distribution network in both Russia and international markets.
It is likely that the Ministry of Finance has filed a lawsuit against Rust Russia JSC, requiring the beneficiary to transfer his businesses to Russian jurisdiction.
