Russia files lawsuit against US-based owner of seized canned food maker

(Reuters) -Russian prosecutors have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. owner of canned food maker Glavprodukt, which was seized by Moscow in October, accusing him of illegally withdrawing around $15.5 million from Russia over the last two years, the RBC news outlet reported.

Russian President Vladimir Putin decreed in October 2024 that Glavprodukt and other assets ultimately owned by U.S. company Universal Beverage and Leonid Smirnov be placed under the "temporary management" of the Russian state, giving Moscow control over the running of the business.

The General Prosecutor's lawsuit, filed on March 5, contained no details, beyond naming the defendants as Smirnov, who is a U.S. citizen, Universal Beverages and other companies.

Glavprodukt is a subsidiary of Universal Beverages, which is owned by Smirnov.

The RBC business daily, citing unnamed sources, said the lawsuit was based on the allegation that Smirnov and the foreign companies controlled by him had moved around 1.38 billion roubles ($15.46 million) out of Russia from 2022 to 2024.

"Universal Beverage Company categorically denies any wrongdoing in relation to the distribution of dividends from its Russian subsidiaries comprising Glavprodukt," Smirnov said in a statement to Reuters via a representative

Smirnov said the company would defend its position in courts in Russia, the United States or elsewhere.

He said he saw the lawsuit as part of a "Russian-style corporate raid" to steal his company and that prosecutors have sought to pressure him and his employees on multiple occasions to stop fighting against the state's takeover of Glavprodukt's management.

He wants the U.S. government to ensure that American-owned businesses in Russia are protected, he said.

Smirnov previously told Reuters that he had completely lost control of Glavprodukt, the largest maker of canned food in Russia, since the seizure, and accused the new bosses of presiding over a drop in sales.

RBC cited a source as saying that Smirnov had sought to block the Russian state's takeover of the management of his company and had issued written instructions to employees not to cooperate with Rosimushchestvo, the federal property management agency.

($1 = 89.2500 roubles)

(Reporting by Alexander Marrow and Anna Hirtenstein; Editing by Mark Trevelyan, Susan Fenton and Tomasz Janowski)