The Moscow Arbitration Court satisfied the claim of the Prosecutor General's Office, transferring the assets of the GC "Glavprodukt" and the property of its shareholder Leonid Smirnov to state revenue, the decision came into force "immediately." The arbitration considered the claim in one session on July 11, and preparation for it had been underway since March of this year. The defendants were the owners of the company — Leonid Smirnov, Universal Beverage Company and Universal Company 2000.
The Prosecutor General's Office demanded to confiscate Smirnov's key companies to state revenue, accusing him of transferring almost 1.4 billion rubles to accounts in the American bank JPMorgan Chase bypassing restrictions through a "splitting" scheme.
According to the investigation, Leonid Smirnov joined "illegal US actions aimed at inflicting strategic defeat on Russia." In addition, after the company was transferred under the management of Rosimushchestvo in October last year, Smirnov "out of a sense of revenge" blocked the work of the temporary administration of "Glavprodukt," including the supply of food to the front.
Leonid Smirnov is the founder of "Glavprodukt" and a US citizen. In the 1970s, he emigrated to the US, returned to Russia in 1995, and in 1999 engaged in the production of canned goods through the American Universal Beverage. In October 2024, Vladimir Putin transferred the companies belonging to "Glavprodukt" to temporary management by Rosimushchestvo.
As reported by the agency Reuters with reference to the company's internal documents, in recent months, "Glavprodukt" sales have sharply declined, if until the fall of last year the company was moderately profitable, now it is unprofitable.
Earlier, Washington stated that Moscow's actions against "Glavprodukt" would affect US-Russia relations. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the issue of "Glavprodukt" would become part of the negotiations on resetting relations between the countries. The court's decision followed Donald Trump's sharp statements about his disappointment in Vladimir Putin.