IDS Ukraine management opposes seizure of its property, ready to continue managing company's property

KYIV. Feb 23 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The management of Ukraine’s largest mineral water producer IDS Ukraine is categorically against the seizure of the company’s property and is ready to take on the obligation to maintain the further efficient operation of the business, the development of which it has been developing in almost unchanged composition since 2008.

As reported in a press release from IDS Ukraine on Thursday, instead of the seizure of property complexes proposed by the Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA), it proposes to sign a memorandum with government agencies, in which its management will assume an obligation to preserve and develop production of mineral waters in the country.

“We would like to state that the seizure of factories will automatically stop the operations of enterprises. A working business will be destroyed, which means that 3,000 IDS Ukraine employees will be left without work in the conditions of war. In addition, the state will lose UAH 700 million in taxes, because that is how much IDS Ukraine paid to the budgets of all levels last year,” the manufacturer emphasized in the press release.

In addition, the seizure of factories and their inevitable shutdown will lead to the fact that the state may lose a large and modern enterprise, in which UAH 2.5 billion has been invested in the last five years alone.

“And this is not all the consequences. The most devastating result of the seizure of enterprises will be that millions of Ukrainians will lose access to a critical product – high-quality bottled water. IDS Ukraine, which is the largest producer of this product, is the only company that can provide the amount of drinking water that which is necessary for the Ukrainian market,” the press release states.

IDS Ukraine also noted that more than 50% of the company’s assets are owned by shareholders not associated with the Russian Federation, who are not subject to any sanctions, and these owners will defend their right to own property in courts, including international ones. In turn, if the enterprises of the group go bankrupt, the state of Ukraine will have to pay compensation for the lost assets to these shareholders.

“Also, the seizure of property owned by non-sanctioned shareholders will be an extremely negative signal for foreign investors. This will indicate that the state of Ukraine neglects the right to inviolability of private property,” the producer of the mineral water stated.

It recalled that ARMA, on its website, published an appeal to law enforcement agencies regarding the seizure of factories and property of other entities that are part of the IDS Ukraine Group of Companies. In June 2022, the Bureau of Economic Security seized the corporate rights of IDS Ukraine, which were transferred to ARMA in November 2022, and on February 10, the agency announced the acceptance of documents for a competition to find a manager for these assets.

In turn, ARMA announced that the competition for the search for a manager of sanctioned corporate rights of IDS Ukraine would not affect the property, real estate and plants of the group. However, the department informed law enforcement officers about the advisability of seizing and transferring not only corporate rights, but also the property of IDS Ukraine to the management of ARMA for the effective disposal of all types of assets included in the structure of this business.