Russian businessman Sergei Shnaider, the owner of the Mere discount retail chain operating in Lithuania and Latvia, has been added to the European Union’s 21st sanctions package, prompting the chain’s operators in Latvia to halt their activities, according to Latvia’s Financial Intelligence Unit.
The Latvian authority said sanctions apply to Latprodukti, which operates the Mere chain in Latvia, and the Latvian branch of Lithuanian company Valiente. Both companies are required to immediately cease operations in compliance with EU sanctions.
According to the Financial Intelligence Unit, Shnaider was sanctioned for materially or financially supporting actions that undermine or threaten Ukraine’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence.
The agency said Shnaider indirectly owns more than 50% of both Latprodukti and Valiente’s Latvian operations.
LRT reported last year that Valiente’s shares had been acquired by Spanish company Vigalight, which is owned by three Russian citizens who previously controlled the Mere retail chain. According to Spain’s corporate register, Shnaider owns 79% of Vigalight, while Andrei Veikulainen holds 15% and Valeriy Yakovlev owns the remaining 6%.
