Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office has filed a lawsuit seeking the nationalisation of Novoroscement, the country’s second-largest cement producer, citing alleged illegal foreign control and capital outflows. The case, reported by The Bell and followed by bne IntelliNews, comes amid a broader wave of de facto renationalisations following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The lawsuit targets Russian-Israeli-Cypriot businessman Lev Kvetnoy, the ultimate beneficiary of Novoroscement and its affiliate, the Verkhnebakansky Cement plant. Prosecutors allege that the 2019 transfer of ownership to AO Aktualnye Investitsii—whose shareholders include Cypriot firms Chevre and Nortox—was completed without mandatory approvals from the Federal Antimonopoly Service and the government commission overseeing foreign investments.
Authorities further claim that Kvetnoy abused a dominant market position to inflate cement prices in southern Russia and transferred more than RUB1bn (US$11.2m) abroad, including to Swiss accounts. The lawsuit argues that these actions violated public order and involved the use of offshore structures to control assets deemed strategic to national security.
Novoroscement accounts for nearly 10 per cent of Russia’s cement output, with assets valued at RUB45bn (US$504m) and annual revenues of RUB46bn (US$515m). Prosecutors are seeking the seizure of all relevant shares and a freeze on associated assets.
