In the shadow of an ongoing war, Ukraine's government is attempting to wrest control of a major water company whose ownership straddles the line between sanctioned Russian oligarchy and a non-sanctioned British-Georgian family fortune — a case that asks how far a nation at war may reach into private property in the name of security. The Patarkatsishvili family, heirs to a Soviet-era billionaire's estate and patrons of the London stage, find themselves caught between their co-shareholder Mikhail Fridman's Western sanctions and Kyiv's wartime asset recovery ambitions. What unfolds in Ukraine's a
Ukraine moves to seize water firm owned by British theatre family and Russian oligarch
Non-sanctioned shareholders shouldn't lose assets without legal grounds
Mark
So the core issue is that Ukraine wants to take control of a water company because one of its owners is a sanctioned Russian oligarch. But the other owners—this British theatre family—aren't sanctioned themselves. How does that work legally?
Mimi
That's exactly the tension. Ukraine froze the company's assets in 2022 because of Fridman's 49% stake. But the Patarkatsishvili family's 34% isn't under sanctions. So Arma is trying to install independent management rather than outright seize it. The family is fighting that in court.
Luke
But here's what we don't know: has anyone actually proven money laundering or value extraction? Maksymenko says she has concerns, but the statement says there have been no official findings. That's a big gap between suspicion and evidence.
Mimi
Right. And the family's investment vehicle has accused Arma of unlawful conduct. That claim is being investigated by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau. So there's a dispute about whether Arma itself is acting properly.
Mark
The family says they've been supporting Ukraine since the invasion. Is there any evidence of that, or is it just a statement?
Luke
The source doesn't provide evidence either way. We know they say it. We don't know what that support actually looks like—donations, operations, anything concrete.
Mimi
The company itself points out it's kept operating throughout the war, supplying water during attacks. Whether that counts as support or just normal business is subjective.
Mark
And the cyber-attack—Arma says they were hit, but no one knows who did it. The family denies involvement. So that's basically unresolved.
Luke
Completely unresolved. Maksymenko implies a connection to IDS Ukraine, but IDS denies it and says the implication is false. We have no independent verification of who attacked whom or why.
Mimi
The real question is what happens next. This goes to Ukraine's anti-corruption high court. If the family loses, they've said they'll take it to international courts. That could drag on for years.
Mark
And in the meantime, a major water company is stuck in limbo.
Luke
With a Russian oligarch still technically owning nearly half of it. That's probably why Ukraine sees it as strategic.
The Pulse
- Ukraine's asset recovery agency froze IDS Ukraine's holdings in 2022 because nearly half the company is controlled by Mikhail Fridman, a sanctioned Russian oligarch with ties to Putin's regime.
- The Patarkatsishvili family — non-sanctioned, self-described supporters of Ukraine since the invasion — say they are being swept up unfairly in a dragnet aimed at their co-shareholder.
- Arma, the agency overseeing the freeze, has struggled to install independent management, citing legal obstruction, bureaucratic delays, and even an unattributed cyber-attack during the process.
- The company itself insists it has never stopped supplying drinking water to Ukrainians, has broken no laws, and that no authority has found evidence of money laundering or financial misconduct.
- The dispute has escalated to Ukraine's anti-corruption high court, with the family warning they will take the fight to international tribunals if domestic courts allow seizure of their stake.
In the shadow of an ongoing war, Ukraine's government is attempting to wrest control of a major water company whose ownership straddles the line between sanctioned Russian oligarchy and a non-sanctioned British-Georgian family fortune — a case that asks how far a nation at war may reach into private property in the name of security. The Patarkatsishvili family, heirs to a Soviet-era billionaire's estate and patrons of the London stage, find themselves caught between their co-shareholder Mikhail Fridman's Western sanctions and Kyiv's wartime asset recovery ambitions. What unfolds in Ukraine's anti-corruption courts may set a precedent for how democracies balance the imperatives of national security against the enduring claims of private ownership.
Ukraine's government is moving to seize control of IDS Ukraine, one of the country's largest bottled water producers, in a dispute that has exposed the tangled legal and moral terrain of wartime asset recovery.
The company's ownership is divided between Mikhail Fridman — founder of Russia's Alfa Group and a sanctioned oligarch — who holds 49%, and the Patarkatsishvili family, who hold 34%. The family's public face in Britain is Liana Patarkatsishvili, a theatre impresario known for high-profile immersive productions. The stake was inherited in 2008 following the death of her father Badri, a billionaire who had fled to the UK and died at 52, leaving behind a fortune estimated at £6 billion.
Ukraine's asset recovery agency, Arma, froze the company's holdings in 2022 specifically because of Fridman's involvement, and has since tried — and repeatedly failed — to install independent management. The agency's head, Yaroslava Maksymenko, has raised concerns about potential money laundering and value extraction, though no official findings of criminal wrongdoing have been made. She also accused the family's investment vehicle of spreading misinformation about Arma officials, a claim the family flatly rejects.
The Patarkatsishvili family says they have actively supported Ukraine since the full-scale invasion began, hold no sanctions, and face no allegations of misconduct. Their representatives argue it is unlawful to seize assets from non-sanctioned shareholders and have vowed to fight the case in Ukrainian courts — and internationally if necessary. IDS Ukraine's own management added that the company has operated without interruption since February 2022, continuing to supply drinking water even through missile and drone attacks.
The case now sits before Ukraine's anti-corruption high court, where the central question is whether wartime national security concerns can justify reaching past a sanctioned co-owner to seize the assets of shareholders who have broken no law — a question that cuts to the heart of property rights, legal authority, and the fog of war.
Ukraine's government is moving to seize control of a major bottled water company whose ownership is split between a British theatre producer's billionaire family and a sanctioned Russian oligarch—a dispute that has landed in court and exposed the messy reality of trying to untangle assets in wartime.
The company in question is IDS Ukraine, which produces some of the country's largest bottled water brands. The Patarkatsishvili family, including Liana Patarkatsishvili, a theatre impresario who recently produced an immersive show starring Toby Jones and Meera Syal, holds a 34% stake. The other major shareholder is Mikhail Fridman, founder of the Russian Alfa Group conglomerate, who controls 49% and is under Western sanctions for his support of Vladimir Putin's regime. The Georgian government holds a minority stake as well.
Ukraine's asset recovery and management agency, known as Arma, froze the company's holdings in 2022 specifically because of Fridman's involvement. The agency has since been tasked with installing independent management to run the operation, treating it as a strategic asset during wartime. But the process has stalled. Yaroslava Maksymenko, the head of Arma, says the agency has faced repeated legal and bureaucratic obstacles, much of it stemming from shareholders unwilling to relinquish control. She also claims the agency was hit by a cyber-attack while attempting to find an independent manager, though no evidence has emerged about who was responsible, and the Patarkatsishvili family is not suspected.
Maxsymenko has raised concerns about potential money laundering and value extraction from the company if it remains under current management. However, no official findings of criminal activity have been made. She also accused the Patarkatsishvili family's investment vehicle, New World Value Fund Limited, of making unfounded claims of unlawful conduct by Arma officials—what she characterized as misinformation. A separate investigation by Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau into those claims is ongoing.
The dispute has escalated to Ukraine's anti-corruption high court, where shareholders are actively fighting attempts to nationalize part or all of the company. The Patarkatsishvili family inherited their stake in 2008 following the death of Badri Patarkatsishvili, a businessman who accumulated his wealth during the Soviet Union's collapse. He had fled to the UK in 2007 and died of a heart attack at 52, leaving behind an estimated fortune of £6 billion. The stake passed to his widow, Inna, and their daughters, Liana and Iya.
In a statement, the family's representatives said they have been committed supporters of Ukraine since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, and that they are being unfairly targeted. They emphasized that the family holds no sanctions and faces no allegations or concerns, and said they would pursue justice through Ukrainian courts—and if necessary, through international courts, as they have done in the past. They argued that non-sanctioned shareholders should not have assets seized without legal grounds.
IDS Ukraine's own representatives countered that the company has operated in full compliance with Ukrainian law, including tax and financial requirements. They said no competent Ukrainian authority, including the state tax service, has found evidence of money laundering or unlawful fund withdrawal. The company also stressed that it has not stopped operations for a single day since the invasion began, continuing to supply drinking water to Ukrainian consumers even during missile and drone attacks. They dismissed the cyber-attack claim as false and irrelevant to their operations.
The case now hinges on whether Ukraine's courts will allow the government to seize assets from non-sanctioned shareholders in order to remove Russian oligarch influence from a strategic industry during wartime—a question that sits at the intersection of national security, property rights, and the fog of legal authority in a country at war.
Notable Quotes
An asset should not be taken away from non-sanctioned shareholders against whom there are no allegations or concerns— Patarkatsishvili family spokesperson
IDS Ukraine has not ceased operations for a single day since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion— IDS Ukraine spokesperson
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War & Conflict