Kremlin moves to seize assets of siberian snack tycoon over alleged support for Ukraine

Russian prosecutors have been instructed to take control of KDV Group, the multibillion-rouble food empire built by Denis Shtengelov, a Siberia-born entrepreneur now residing in Australia. The sweeping move, worth some 500 billion roubles (£4.4 billion), follows allegations by the Kremlin that Mr Shtengelov and his family offered support to Ukraine during the ongoing conflict with Russia. KDV, renowned for its popular biscuits, chocolate bars, and other snacks, now faces the prospect of forced takeover, despite the company’s assertions of compliant business practices and continued operations.

The legal action, as outlined by Russia’s Interfax agency, accuses Mr Shtengelov of “extremism”—citing both his purported vocal support for Ukraine and claims that corporate funds were transferred out of Russia without government approval. Further allegations target his father, Nikolai Shtengelov, a businessman based in Ukraine’s partly Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia region, who is accused of donating funds to Ukraine’s defence and establishing a paramilitary group.

Russian prosecutors allege income from KDV’s holding company was moved to “unfriendly jurisdictions” without requisite permissions. Amid these claims, reports from the Russian media suggest asset seizures may already be underway, although KDV continues to emphasise it is trading as usual. In an official statement earlier this month, KDV argued that its rise was achieved without state backing, contributing 13.8 billion roubles in taxes and investing 5.4 billion roubles in Russian infrastructure in recent years.

Asset seizures of this scale are not isolated cases. Since the outbreak of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, the Kremlin is estimated to have confiscated up to 3.9 trillion roubles from business and political figures, with around 200 billion roubles seized on the grounds of “extremism”. This crackdown reflects heightened suspicion of dissent among Russia’s wealthy elite and attempts to bring influential entrepreneurs under tighter control.

Mr Shtengelov, who started out selling sunflower seeds post-communism and acquired his first factory in 1997, now finds his personal fortune estimated by Bloomberg at $2.6 billion. His presence in Australia since the early 2010s and public remarks expressing regret over the Ukraine invasion have placed him firmly in the Kremlin’s crosshairs as Moscow seeks to stifle both financial autonomy and public dissent among oligarchs.

KDV’s future hangs in the balance as prosecutors prepare their court case, raising questions about the security of business interests in Russia for other tycoons with global ties or views that diverge from official Kremlin policy.