The alcoholic beverage producer Amber Beverage Group, which owes the state several million, is calling on the Latvian government and European institutions to support companies that, by expressing support for Ukraine, have suffered direct economic losses because of their stance.
“Almost four years after the start of Russian aggression, Amber Beverage Group continues to bear the costs of our principled support for Ukraine and peace in Europe,” says Amber Beverage Group CEO Normunds Staņēvičs. “By supporting Ukraine, we lost the main production plant of Amber Talvis and extensive distribution markets. Although this Russian action surprises no one, it exacerbates the problems caused by the global downturn in the spirits sector. As Latvia’s largest taxpayer, we call on Latvia and the European Union to consider support mechanisms for companies affected by such confiscation.”
Amber Beverage Group calls on the Latvian government to assess the possibility of providing targeted support – either through financial instruments, export credit relief, or tailored tax and investment measures. This would not only help restore competitiveness, but also send a strong signal that Europe supports companies that uphold its values.
The company notes that almost four years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Amber Beverage Group continues to feel the consequences of its support for Ukraine. Specifically, in 2024 the Russian authorities confiscated and then appropriated significant spirits assets that had previously been linked to the group’s financing agreements.
According to Russian government decrees reported by Russian propaganda media RIA Novosti and TASS, Russia approved the privatization of two major producers – the Amber Talvis alcohol plant and the former SPI-RVVK alcohol plant – following court proceedings initiated by the Prosecutor General’s Office. In June 2024, Amber Talvis, one of the ten largest producers of rectified ethyl alcohol in Russia, was seized. A month later, a regional court ordered the confiscation of the assets, which in August were transferred to the aggressor state.
The proceedings explicitly referred to financial ties with Amber Beverage Group and were accompanied by the designation of the beneficial owner, entrepreneur Yuri Shefler, and related organizations as “extremists”. In December 2024, Rosfinmonitoring added Shefler and his affiliated organizations to its list of terrorists and extremists.
The company recalls that Russian prosecutors did not conceal the political involvement, claiming that Shefler publicly supports Ukraine and that companies associated with him finance humanitarian aid activities for Ukraine. As a result, Amber Beverage Group lost its main production facility and access to significant distribution markets – a price paid not for commercial violations, but for a values-based position aligned with European principles.
At the end of last year, reports appeared publicly that the State Revenue Service had begun recovery of overdue tax debt from the beverage producer AS Amber Latvijas balzams in the amount of 17.1 million euros. Amber Beverage Group announced that it was committed to fulfilling all obligations to the State Revenue Service, including paying all outstanding taxes. AS Amber Latvijas balzams pays on average 72 million euros per year in taxes.
Amber Beverage Group emphasizes that its global operations remain fully functional and that service to customers and partners continues without interruption. The group has worked intensively to restructure supply chains and rebalance its portfolio. However, the financial shock of politically motivated expropriation cannot be neutralized solely through corporate measures.
Originally published at https://inc-baltics.com/amber-beverage-group-ludz-atbalstit-ukrainu-atbalstosos-uznemumus/
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