Russia's state property agency has taken control of all the assets of what was until recently Russia's largest grain trader following a court decision last week, a state property registry entry showed on Thursday.
A Russian court ruled in favour of a lawsuit filed by the General Prosecutor's Office to transfer all the assets of Rodnie Polya, which exported 14 per cent of Russian grain in the 2023/24 season, to the state, sources close to the company previously told Reuters.
The company told Reuters on Thursday that its owner, businessman Petr Khodykin, along with the firm's lawyers, were considering various ways of defence, including an appeal to the country's Constitutional Court.
"Petr Khodykin is seeking the possibility of a fair trial for a Russian citizen and is trying to draw the authorities' attention to the fact that his case is completely unlike those where the prosecutor's office truly defends the interests of the state and its security," the company said in a written statement sent to Reuters.
Published materials cited the foreign citizenship of Khodykin as a key reason for the move, aimed at preventing foreign control over strategic assets.
The decision creates an important precedent as some other grain sector assets in Russia are still controlled by foreign-registered firms.
Rodnie Polya, formerly known as TD RIF, controls a major grain-loading terminal in the Black Sea region, classified as a strategic asset that, by law, cannot be controlled by foreigners. It also owns 17 grain-transporting vessels.
The hearing was held behind closed doors on January 31, and the decision has not yet been published. One source said the company has not yet received the court's decision and will decide whether to proceed with an appeal at a later stage.
Khodykin surrendered his Saint Kitts and Nevis passport and a residency permit for the United Arab Emirates ahead of the hearings concerning the fate of his firm, a source told Reuters on February 5.
(Reporting by Olga Popova, writing by Gleb Bryanski; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and David Evans)