Ukraine moves to take over water firm held by British theatre tycoon's clan

A British theatre producer and her billionaire family are entangled in a conflict with Ukrainian authorities attempting to confiscate a water company they co-own with a Russian oligarch.

The dispute concerns a 34% stake in the producer of Ukraine’s largest bottled water brands, held by the Patarkatsishvili family, including Liana Patarkatsishvili, who recently collaborated on an immersive show with actors Toby Jones and Meera Syal.

IDS Ukraine’s corporate holdings were frozen by Ukrainian authorities in 2022 due to a 49% stake in the company held by Russian investors, among them Mikhail Fridman, founder of the Russian Alfa Group conglomerate. Fridman is subject to Western sanctions for his backing of Vladimir Putin’s government.

Ukraine’s asset recovery and management agency (Arma) has been directed to appoint independent management to oversee the company, whose other minority shareholders include the Georgian government.

Arma’s head, Yaroslava Maksymenko, stated they had encountered repeated legal and bureaucratic obstacles, partly because of the shareholders’ refusal to relinquish control of their assets.

The agency also alleges it was targeted by a cyber-attack during one effort to locate an independent manager for the company, although there is no evidence identifying the responsible party and the Patarkatsishvili family is not suspected.

Maksymenko asserted that New World Value Fund Limited, the Patarkatsishvili family’s investment vehicle in IDS Ukraine, had filed an unsubstantiated claim of unlawful conduct by Arma officials, which she labelled "misinformation."

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine is continuing to investigate the claims of unlawful conduct.

Maksymenko said her agency had concerns about potential money laundering and asset extraction from IDS Ukraine should it remain under current management, although no official findings of such criminal activity have been made.

Separate proceedings are underway in Ukraine’s anti-corruption high court, where shareholders are contesting efforts to nationalise part or all of IDS Ukraine’s ownership, regarded by some in government as a strategically important asset during wartime.

A spokesperson for the Patarkatsishvili family said they had supported Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, adding that the family was being unfairly targeted and would pursue justice in international courts if required.

They stated: "The Patarkatsishvili family firmly believes that an asset should not be seized from non-sanctioned shareholders against whom there are no allegations or concerns, and is defending this stance through all relevant proceedings before Ukrainian courts and authorities.

"If the Patarkatsishvili family cannot secure justice through Ukrainian courts, and the asset is ultimately seized through the Arma process, it will have no alternative but to seek justice before international courts, as it has consistently done in the past."

The family’s stake in IDS Ukraine was inherited in 2008 by Liana, her sister Iya, and their mother Inna, following the death of Badri Patarkatsishvili, a businessman who accumulated his wealth during the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

Patarkatsishvili relocated to the UK in 2007 but died in 2008 of a heart attack at age 52, with an estimated fortune of £6bn. Iya Patarkatsishvili and her husband drew attention last year after receiving a refund following their purchase of a £32m London mansion reportedly infested with moths.

Last summer, Liana Patarkatsishvili produced a large-scale immersive theatre production titled Storehouse, dealing with "misinformation," through her production company Sage & Jester, featuring Toby Jones and Meera Syal.

A spokesperson for IDS Ukraine said: "Throughout its operations, the IDS Ukraine Group of companies has operated and continues to operate in compliance with Ukrainian law, including tax and financial legislation.

"No competent state authority of Ukraine, including the state tax service, has identified any facts of money laundering, unlawful withdrawal of funds, or any other financial activity of this nature involving IDS Ukraine.

"We are not aware of any investigations or current inquiries by Ukrainian authorities into IDS Ukraine’s operations regarding such allegations.

"IDS Ukraine has not halted operations for a single day since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion. The group maintained production and supplied Ukrainian consumers with drinking water even amid ongoing missile and drone attacks."

The spokesperson added: "We are aware of statements by Arma implying but not directly stating that [the cyber-attack] is somehow connected with IDS Ukraine Group of companies. However, this information is simply false and entirely irrelevant."