Russian Authorities Reportedly Move to Seize Assets of ‘Extremist’ Stoli Vodka Magnate Accused of Supporting Ukraine
A display of Stolichnaya Vodka from Russia in a Total Wine and More store in University Park, Fla., on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2022. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Yuri Shefler, the billionaire spirits magnate behind Stoli Vodka, is reportedly being targeted by authorities in his home nation of Russia over his continued support for Ukraine.
The schism first manifested in 2022, when Stoli made an official statement denouncing the Russian war effort. Firming its position, the brand released a limited-edition Ukraine Vodka adorned in shades of yellow and blue, proceeds of which continue to raise funds for Chef Jose Andrés’ World Central Kitchen.
(Photo: Stoli Group)
On Wednesday, RIA Novosti — a news agency owned and operated by the Russian government — published a statement on Telegram quoting an anonymous source from the Prosecutor General’s Office. According to the source, authorities are demanding that Shefler and his companies be classified as an “extremist association” and that his domestic assets be seized. The Prosecutor General’s Office contends that Shefler’s activities are directed “against the life and health of Russians, the security of society and the state.”
It’s unclear what assets the Russian government would be able to commandeer. Shefler was exiled from the country in 2000 and currently manages his wildly profitable SPI Group — the owner of over 380 liquor brands — from Luxembourg.
The conflict between Shefler and Russian authorities dates back to 1997, when the businessman bought the Stoli brand for just $285,000. The Russian Federation intervened three years later to declare the sale illegal, contending that the vodka was a state-owned asset holding over from the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Under the current arrangement, Shefler sells Stoli-branded vodka in international markets while Russia produces its own “Stolichnaya” vodka for domestic consumers; the tug-of-war bares an uncanny resemblance to the fight over Havana Club Rum currently playing out in Cuba.
In addition to Stoli Vodka, Shefler and Stoli own Louisiana Spirits Company, Kentucky Owl Whiskey, Mexico’s Fabrica de Tequilas Finos and Argentina’s Achaval Ferrer. Forbes pegs Shefler’s current net worth at around $1.5 billion.
Occasionally, Shefler also finds his way into celebrity gossip columns. In 2021, the Stoli Group acquired a 50% stake in Chateau Miraval, a winery founded a few years prior by Angelina Jolie and her then-husband Brad Pitt. Jolie allegedly sold her stake to Shefler without notifying Pitt, setting in motion a years-long legal battle that has frequently positioned the billionaire at the center of the failed Hollywood romance.
In court filings, lawyers representing Pitt have accused Shefler of attempting to “bully and threaten” the actor with a smear campaign, describing the Russian ex-pat as “a stranger with poisonous associations and intentions.” A Stoli subsidiary countersued Pitt in May, claiming that the winery was being used as a “personal piggy bank” illegally diverting funds to other projects.
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