Moscow court
On September 23, a Moscow court will review the KDV case to see if Russia can proceed with transferring Shtengelov’s business to the state. Meanwhile, the court banned any transactions related to property and shares of more than 50 companies that are part of KDV, news agency Tass reported.
KDV said in a post on its website this month that “our team sincerely hopes for a fair and balanced resolution to the current situation” as “the company conscientiously fulfilled its obligations to the state, paid taxes, and invested in Russia, creating jobs, supporting regions, and numerous charitable projects”.
Russian President Vladimir Putin. Asset seizures are surging in Russia since the invasion of Ukraine.Credit: AP
While the state has rarely invoked extremism as a legal basis, it has already appropriated assets worth 200 billion roubles ($3.6 billion) under those grounds. That figure would more than triple if it does take over KDV, whose market value is put by prosecutors at 500 billion roubles ($9 billion).
Shtengelov began his business career in the 1990s after graduating from university in Siberia. In those turbulent years as Russia moved to a market economy after the collapse of the Soviet Union, his early ventures included supplying sunflower seeds to elderly women in his hometown of Tomsk, who roasted and sold the popular snack known as semechki. He also pressed seeds into oil, which he bartered to cash-strapped confectioners for candy.
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Shtengelov made a point of controlling businesses across the supply chain, from milk farms to factories producing chocolates, choux pastry and cookies.
Today, KDV employs more than 39,000 people at 14 factories and is Russia’s fourth-biggest producer of food and beverages, according to researcher Infoline. The company makes hundreds of items, from crisps and snacks to baby food, and posted revenue of 305 billion roubles ($5.5 billion) in 2024, according to Spark-Interfax database.
In 2021, KDV bought the US-based Liberty Orchards, a maker of Aplets & Cotlets candies, and Dutch vegetable products supplier Hak. Shtengelov also owns a stake in Croatian food company Zvecevo, Forbes reported.
State attention
This isn’t the first time Shtengelov has attracted the attention of the Russian state. In 2018, a fire killed more than 60 people in a Siberian mall he co-owned. Shtengelov wasn’t involved in the operational management of the mall, but paid 3 million roubles to relatives of each victim, he said in a rare interview at the time.
He also said that he shares his time between Russia and Australia, where he has a sports venue on the Gold Coast.
Shtengelov has links to the KDV Sports complex on the Gold Coast.
Shtengelov, 53, has been linked to the Australian company KDV Sport since 2011. He stepped down as a director in 2020, leaving Maria Karzhilova as the sole director.
The company’s centrepiece is the KDV Sport complex in Carrara, a suburb on the Gold Coast, about 70 kilometres south of Brisbane. Spread across the site are 20 tennis courts, including clay surfaces, along with 18- and nine-hole golf courses and a driving range. The grounds also house padel and pickleball courts, a gym and fitness centre, and a hotel with a day spa and restaurant.
Two other businesses are tied to KDV Sport in Australia: Elite Gold Coast, the hotel operating within the sports centre, and Eurofood Shop, a retailer of Russian and Polish groceries on the Gold Coast.
Bloomberg
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