Vodka Billionaire Accuses Putin of Plot to Steal His Empire

This is a display of Stolichnaya Vodka from Russia in a Total Wine and More store Feb. 27, 2022, in University Park, Florida. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Stoli vodka owner Yuri Shefler has accused former Latvian Prime Minister Andris Šķēle of attempting to seize control of his spirits business in an alleged effort linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Šķēle has denied the allegations, calling them baseless and slanderous.

Shefler, the British-Russian businessman behind SPI Group, which owns the Stoli brand, has asked Latvia’s State Security Service to investigate Šķēle over his alleged role in an attempted corporate takeover, according to the Daily Star.

The dispute centers on an alleged meeting between the two men in Riga on Sept. 1. Shefler described the encounter as a confrontation over what he called a hostile takeover of his business.

“I believe Mr Šķēle, a man with links to Putin’s inner circle, is involved in an attempted corporate raid of Stoli Group,” Shefler said, per the Daily Star.

Šķēle, who served as Latvia’s prime minister during two separate periods in the 1990s, offered a different account of the meeting. He said the discussion focused on options for keeping the company solvent amid financial challenges facing the business and its creditors.

“Our September meeting was a brainstorm, essentially weighing Mr Shefler’s options to keep the company solvent rather than anyone pushing him out,” Šķēle said, according to the Daily Star. “There was no threat, just evaluation of admittedly a very challenging situation the company and its creditors are facing.”

He also denied expressing hostility toward Shefler and accused the businessman of portraying himself as a victim rather than acknowledging his company’s financial difficulties.

Latvia’s VDD confirmed it had received Shefler’s dossier and was evaluating the allegations.

The latest dispute comes amid Shefler’s long-running conflict with the Russian government. He left Russia in 2003 after opposing efforts to nationalize his Stolichnaya vodka business, which later became associated with the Stoli name in international markets.

Shefler said Russian authorities subsequently targeted his business after he publicly condemned Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. That year, the company dropped the “chnaya” ending from its name, adopting Stoli as its primary brand identity.

“More than anything, I wish for ‘Stoli’ to represent peace in Europe and solidarity with Ukraine,” Shefler said in 2022.

Russian authorities later designated Shefler an extremist and seized his Russian factories in 2024, according to the Daily Star. Shefler has also alleged that Russia launched a cyberattack against his business.

“For more than two decades, I have defended myself and my assets against sustained aggression by the Russian state,” he said.

Shefler has further claimed that Russian security agents attempted to kidnap him at an airport in Kyrgyzstan in 2005. He said he escaped after receiving a warning by phone while aboard a plane, prompting the aircraft to turn back.

The allegations against Šķēle have not been established, and Latvia’s security service has not announced the outcome of its review.