The Polish government has taken control of the 20% stake in Poland’s largest chemicals group, Azoty, controlled by Viatcheslav Kantor, a Russian oligarch seen as close to Vladimir Putin. It will now look to sell the stake, which is worth an estimated 500 million zloty (€113 million).
“Step by step, we are eliminating the presence of Russians in the Polish economy,” said development minister Waldemar Buda today, announcing the move.
Minister @waldemar_buda: Krok po kroku eliminujemy obecność Rosjan w polskiej gospodarce. Bezpieczeństwo energetyczne i ekonomiczne Polski i jej obywateli jest dla nas największym priorytetem. Dlatego podjąłem decyzję, po konsultacjach z @CBAgovPL i @MAPGOVPL, o wprowadzeniu… pic.twitter.com/J3xGoLzttI
— Ministerstwo Rozwoju i Technologii (@MRiTGOVPL) July 11, 2023
The Polish authorities do not have the power to directly confiscate such assets (though the government last year called for a constitutional change to give it such powers).
But it can take temporary receivership of companies on its sanctions list, as happened last year with the Polish assets of Russia’s Gazprom. The government says that Poland is the first country in Europe to introduce such a legal mechanism.
Today, Buda announced that his ministry has introduced such administrative measures against three companies belonging to Kantor – one based in Luxembourg and the others in Cyprus – through which he controls a 19.82% stake in Azoty. Kantor and the firms were last year placed on Poland’s sanctions list.
“Kantor’s shares are frozen, so there is no question of exercising voting rights at shareholders’ meetings and [receiving] dividend payments,” said Buda. “We do not want this Russian to be in any way associated with a Polish strategic company.”
Poland is taking over Gazprom’s assets in the country, meaning the Russian firm’s share in the Polish section of the Yamal gas pipeline
"We're doing all we can to counteract Russia’s aggression and eliminate Russian capital and influence," says a minister https://t.co/iQ9So8LX6g
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) November 15, 2022
The minister announced that Poland would now seek an entity that can buy the shares, which would pay compensation for them into a frozen bank account.
“This is very good news for Azoty,” said Buda. “Having a shareholder with Russian capital limited the credibility of the company.”
Azoty, which was founded in the 1920s, is the second-largest producer of both fertilisers and melamine in the EU, and one of the largest producers of plasticisers. The Polish state holds a 33% stake in the firm.
With a net worth of $11.3 billion, as estimated by Forbes this year, Kantor is one of Russia’s richest people. As well as his business interests, Kantor has served as president of the European Jewish Congress and also holds British and Israeli citizenship.
State energy giant Orlen has signed a letter of intent regarding the acquisition of a fertilizer plant from Poland’s largest chemical firm, Grupa Azoty, which has struggled amid high gas prices and eased import restrictions during the war in Ukraine https://t.co/qX2DYDa6kH
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) June 7, 2023
Main image credit: kremlin.ru (under CC BY 4.0)
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
