E-Malt.com News article: Belarus: Largest Ukrainian beer importer on the verge of bankruptcy due to a court decision

Aramis and Co, the biggest Belarusian importer of Ukrainian beer, has found itself on the verge of bankruptcy after a Belarusian court obliged it to pay 5-billion-ruble sanctions imposed on it by the country’s Financial Police, Charter 97 reported on September, 29.

99% of the imported beer comes to Belarus from Ukraine and Russia. Aramis and Co was the biggest importer of Ukrainian beer in Belarus. Taking into account that fact that the biggest Ukrainian breweries preferred to deliver beer in Belarus via Aramis and Co, the Belarusian importer did its work well. The fact that interests of Obolon and Slavutich, competitors in Ukraine, were represented by the same company didn’t confuse them.

Aramis and Co faced difficulties in spring 2009. Standardization bodies said the company-importer didn’t have the right to sell beer “Obolon Svetloe” bottled in the so called “fire extinguishers” in Belarus. Though “Obolon Svetloe” was certified in Belarus, the certification bodies insisted that the Ukrainian beer bottled in containers under a fantasy name “fire extinguishers” should be certified separately.

Belarusian retail chains learnt this summer that Aramis and Co was being audited. The result of the audits was a decision of the Belarusian Financial Police to block the accounts of the company and impose 5-billion-ruble sanctions on it.

Aramis and Co claims it didn’t violate the Belarusian law, because beer “Obolon Svetloe” bottled in containers under a fantasy name “fire extinguisher” was certified. The company-importer made an attempt to appeal against the decision in court but the case was decided against it.

A representative of Aramis and Co said on September, 28 the sum of the sanctions places the company on the verge of bankruptcy. He noted the situation is even more complicated, because the company is unable to pay salaries for August.

“The financial investigation department didn’t allow us to transfer salaries for August to our staff from the blocked accounts. Our company has 250 employees. Unfortunately, they have all chances to meet unemployment,” the administration of Aramis and Co said about the situation. The company is going to continue defending its rights in court.

“We are going to appeal to the Supreme Economic Court. We’ll continue to struggle, we won’t give up,” the Aramis and Co representative concluded.


30 September, 2009