World news | The Guardian
· collected 2026-09-07 · by Daniel Boffey Chief reporter
The Ukrainian government's asset recovery agency, Arma, is seeking to seize control of a water company called IDS Ukraine that is jointly owned by the Patarkatsishvili family, who are British theatre moguls, and Russian oligarch Mikhail Fridman. The 34% stake in the company held by the Patarkatsishvili family has been frozen since 2022 due to Fridman's connections to Vladimir Putin's regime. Arma claims that IDS Ukraine is a strategic asset at risk of money laundering and value extraction under current management, but there have been no official findings of criminality. The Patarkatsishvili family denies any wrongdoing and says they are being unfairly targeted by the Ukrainian government.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-07,
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Story summary
Ukraine's asset recovery agency Arma is seeking to seize a 34% stake in IDS Ukraine, a water company owned by the Patarkatsishvili family, who are also minority shareholders. The company produces Ukraine's biggest bottled water brands and has Russian investors, including billionaire Mikhail Fridman, holding a majority of 49% shares, which were frozen by Ukrainian authorities in 2022 due to sanctions on Fridman for supporting the Putin regime. However, the Patarkatsishvili family claims they are being unfairly targeted and will seek justice in international courts if necessary. They argue that an asset should not be taken away from non-sanctioned shareholders without allegations or concerns. The Ukrainian authorities have faced legal and bureaucratic obstacles in their attempts to take control of the company, according to Yaroslava Maksymenko, head of Arma.
Written for “Ukraine Seizes Water Company” on 2026-09-07,
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A British theatre impresario and her billionaire family are embroiled in a bitter dispute with Ukrainian authorities seeking to seize a water company they jointly own with a Russian oligarch.
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they → embroil → oligarch
The row centres on a 34% stake held in the producer of Ukraine’s biggest bottled water brands by the Patarkatsishvili family, including Liana Patarkatsishvili, who recently worked on an immersive show with Toby Jones and Meera Syal.
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who → centre → Jones
The corporate holdings of IDS Ukraine were frozen by the Ukrainain authorities in 2022 owing to the 49% stake that is also held in the company by Russian investors, including Mikhail Fridman, the founder of the Russian Alfa Group conglomerate.
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that → freeze → conglomerate
Ukraine’s asset recovery and management agency (Arma) has been tasked with instructing independent management to take over the running of the company whose other minority shareholders include the Georgian government.
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shareholders → task → government
The Ukrainian agency’s head, Yaroslava Maksymenko, said they had repeatedly run into legal and bureaucratic obstacles owing, in part, to the shareholders’ resistance to give up control of their assets.
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they → say → assets
The agency further claims to have been the subject of a cyber-attack during one attempt to find an independent manager for the company although there is no evidence as to who was responsible and the Patarkatsishvili family is not suspected.
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family → claim → company
However, Maksymenko claimed New World Value Fund Limited, the vehicle for the Patarkatsishvili’s investment in IDS Ukraine, had pursued an unfounded claim of unlawful conduct by Arma’s officials which she said was “misinformation”.
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she → claim → officials
An investigation by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine into the claims of unlawful conduct continues.
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investigation → continue → conduct
Maksymenko said her agency had concerns over potential money laundering and value extraction from IDS Ukraine if it remained under the current management although there have not been any official findings of such criminality.
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it → say → criminality
There are separate proceedings in the Ukrainian anti-corruption high court in which the shareholders are fighting attempts to nationalise part or all of the ownership of IDS Ukraine, which is seen by some in government as a key strategic asset at a time of war.
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which → be → war
A spokesperson for the Patarkatsishvili family said they had been committed supporters of Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022, adding that the family were being unfairly targeted and would seek justice in the international courts if necessary.
They said: “The Patarkatsishvili family strongly believes that an asset should not be taken away from non-sanctioned shareholders against whom there are no allegations or concerns, and is defending this position through all relevant proceedings before the Ukrainian courts and authorities.
“If the Patarkatsishvili family is unable to obtain justice through the Ukrainian courts, and the asset is ultimately taken away through the Arma process, it will, of course, have no choice but to seek justice before the international courts, as it has consistently done in the past.
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it → say → past
The family’s shareholding in IDS Ukraine was inherited in 2008 by Liana, her sister, Iya, and mother, Inna, after the death of Badri Patarkatsishvili, a businessman who made his fortune during the breakup of the Soviet Union.
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who → inherit → Union
Patarkatsishvili fled to the UK in 2007 but died in 2008 of a heart attack at the age of 52 with an estimated fortune of £6bn.
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Patarkatsishvili → flee → 6bn
Iya Patarkatsishvili and her husband made headlines last year for being granted a refund after buying a £32m London mansion that was said to be infested with moths.
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that → make → moths
Last summer, Liana Patarkatsishvili staged a large-scale immersive theatre production called Storehouse about “misinformation” through her production company Sage & Jester, starring the actors Toby Jones and Meera Syal.
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Patarkatsishvili → stag → actors
A spokesperson for IDS Ukraine said: “Throughout its operations, the IDS Ukraine Group of companies has operated and continues to operate in accordance with the requirements of Ukrainian law, including tax and financial legislation.
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Group → say → tax
“No competent state authority of Ukraine, including the state tax service of Ukraine, has established any facts of money laundering, unlawful withdrawal of funds or any other financial activity of this nature on the part of IDS Ukraine.
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authority → include → Ukraine
“IDS Ukraine has also not ceased operations for a single day since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
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Ukraine → cease → invasion
The group continued production and supplied Ukrainian consumers with drinking water even amid continuous missile and drone attacks.”
The spokesperson added: “We are aware of statements by the asset recovery and management agency implying but not saying it directly that [a cyber-attack] is somehow connected with the IDS Ukraine Group of companies.
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attack → continue → companies
