SPI's German distributor,
Plodimex, is increasingly less active - as three new off shore
distribution entities (in Cyprus, the Dutch Antilles, and Gibraltar)
are increasingly more so.
The FSB ordered Kaliningrad customs to prohibit bulk exports of
Stolichnaya. Cases of the drink are routinely confiscated. Criminal
charges were brought against directors and managers in the firm. The
Deputy Minister of Agriculture is discrediting SPI in meetings with its
distributors and business partners abroad. He is also accused by the
firm of obstructing the court-mandated registration of its trademarks.
The courts have lately been good to SPI, coming out with a spate of
decisions against the government's conduct in this convoluted affair.
But on February 1, the firm suffered a setback, when a Moscow court
ruled against it and ordered 43 of its brands, the prized Stolichnaya
included, returned to the government (i.e., re-nationalized).
SPI is doing its best to placate the authorities. It is rumored to have
offered last month to use its ample funds to supplement the federal
budget.
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