British group helped dairy firms to beat sanctions

A BRITISH firm helped Russia’s diary industry survive Western sanctions after Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine, documents have revealed.

Russia’s milk producers were crippled by the punitive measures, but London-listed paper and packaging giant Mondi Group came to their rescue.

Swedish firm Tetra Pak, which provided Russian firms with seven out of 10 milk and juice cartons, quit the market and no other firms were willing to fill the void. However, Mondi announced in June that it would to begin production of packing to replace Tetra Pak’s.

At the time, Victoria Abramchenko, a Russian vice-prime minister, hailed the news and claimed it meant the country would no longer lack food packaging.

Mondi had promised to leave the market after the Russian invasion but it only announced the sale of its Syktyvkar pulp and paper mill, its largest asset in Russia, last month, almost six months after the Kremlin ordered troops to topple Ukraine.

Viktor Kharitonin, a Russian billionaire who built Pharmstandard, a multinational pharmaceutical business, with Roman Abramovich, the former Chelsea FC owner, was due to buy it.

Details of Mondi’s continued participation in the Russian market, despite its pledge to leave, were highlighted in an analysis by Ukraine’s economic security council. The documents reveal at least 15 Western firms are operating in Russia, many helping to provide hardware used by Kremlin troops in Ukraine.

According to the analysis, in June Klaus Peller, the head of Mondi’s Russian operation, said the firm’s plant was the “only pulp and paper mill in Russia whose assortment has not changed at all in terms of quality” and its revenue had “remained at the same level”.

The analysis concluded that the Kremlin may have helped finance Mr Kharitonin’s €1.5billion (£1.3billion) purchase of Mondi’s Russian assets.

“The price of Mondi slightly exceeds the total fortune of Kharitonin, which, considering his proximity to Russian authorities, drives the suggestions of governmental financial support in acquiring such a valuable asset,” it said.

The Telegraph has contacted the Mondi Group for comment.