Russia’s Rusagro loses a third of its value after arrest of billionaire founder Moshkovich

By Guy Faulconbridge

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russian agricultural producer Rusagro has lost nearly a third of its value on the Moscow stock exchange in the past two days since news of the arrest of its billionaire founder Vadim Moshkovich emerged.

Moshkovich, 57, is the most prominent businessman to be arrested in Russia for years. His detention follows a conflict with the founders of a major supplier of vegetable oils and fats whose assets were bought in 2018 by Rusagro, according to two of Russia’s most respected media outlets, Kommersant and RBC.

Rusagro shares fell to an intra-day low of 156.32 roubles on Thursday, down more than 32% from the open on 230.50 roubles on Wednesday, according to data from the MOEX exchange.

Russian media reported that police had charged Moshkovichwith large-scale fraud. He is Russia’s 55th richest businessman, according to Forbes, with a fortune of $2.3 billion.

Kommersant said officers from the Federal Security Service (FSB) and anti-corruption police raided offices of the company in Moscow and other cities, as well as the homes of senior managers, and took away files, phones and servers.

Rusagro is Russia’s leading producer of sugar, meat, oil and fats. The company issued a statement on Wednesday confirming several of its offices had been searched but saying the operation was not related to its “current activities”. It did not mention Moshkovich.

“We understand that this situation may raise questions among our clients, partners and employees, so we hasten to assure you: the company fully complies with the law and is ready to provide all necessary assistance to authorised bodies,” it said.

It said all company activities were continuing as normal, and all obligations were being met. “We are confident in the transparency of our work and expect the procedures to be completed as soon as possible.”

Moshkovich was sanctioned by the European Union in 2022 after attending a meeting between businessmen and President Vladimir Putin on the day that Russia invaded Ukraine. The EU said he had Russian and Cypriot passports.

Following the sanctions, Moshkovich resigned as chairman of Rusagro in 2022 and cut his stake below 50%. Rusagro, which is not under Western sanctions, is Russia’s only major listed agricultural company.

Rusagro changed its domicile from Cyprus to Russia, following a Russian court decision in a case brought by the Agriculture Ministry against Rusagro’s Cyprus-based parent company.

A group of members of the lower house of Russian parliament asked the Justice Ministry in 2024 to designate Moshkovich as “foreign agent”, a legal status often assigned to opposition activists, due to the company’s Cyprus domicile.

(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)