Sanctions Are Working: Aleksin Getting A Move On

The structure of his family's property in Latvia has changed.

As Ezhednevnik found out, a week before the European Union announced the fourth package of sanctions, which included businessman Aliaksei Aleksin, the structure of his family's property in Latvia had changed.

According to the data posted by the Latvian register Lursoft.lv, Aliaksei Aleksin's wife Ina Aleksina has ceased to be the co-owner of the Daugavpils companies Latgales Alus D and Mamas D. In both companies, she owned approximately 40% of the shares.

The Aleksin family, however, continues to control these assets. Ina Aleksina's shares in Latgales Alus D and Mamas D went to the co-owner of these companies, her son Dzmitry. Thus, since mid-June this year, Dzmitry Aleksin has been the key owner of two Latvian family businesses. In Latgales Alus D and Mamas D he owns 74.99% each. The rest of the stake in both companies is still owned by the Latvian oil trader Alexander Grahovskis. Thanks to these transactions, Dzmitry Aleksin became one of the nine largest Belarusian investors in the capital of companies in Latvia. The total amount of his investments in two businesses exceeded 350 thousand euros.

Latgales Alus D and Mamas D are quite important enterprises for the economy of the second largest city in the Baltic country.

The first is engaged in the production and sale of beer, which was previously actively supplied, including to the Belarusian market. The plant employs about 70 people. The second in its twenty-five-year history has changed its profile several times. The heyday of Mamas D came at a time when it was acquired by Belarusian businessmen. This happened in 2008 - then the company engaged in the production of biofuel was invested by the firm Neonafta, behind which were Yury Chyzh and Aliaksei Aleksin. Thanks to the investors, in 2010 Mamas D entered the top ten largest enterprises in Daugavpils and in the top 500 largest companies in Latvia in terms of revenue. In 2011-2012, with a turnover of 68 million and 100 million euros respectively, Mamas D has already topped the list of the most important enterprises in Daugavpils. In 2012, Chyzh and Aleksin parted, due to the introduction of the first EU sanctions. On the division of assets Latgales Alus D and Mamas D went to the family of Aliaksei Aleksin and shares in them were assigned to his wife and one of his sons.

After the division of the business, the turnover of Mamas D fell, although until 2018 the company remained among the top 500 largest businesses in Latvia. With the involvement of EU funds (money from the European Agricultural Fund for the Development of Rural Areas (FEASR), the Aleksins redesigned the enterprise for the production of malt. There was an attempt to get money from the Latvian budget for organizing fish processing. But the project for unknown reasons was not implemented. Currently, except for Mamas D malt is engaged in the production of heat and electricity, and the production of some chemical products.

The history of Latvian assets is similar to what is happening with the branched out business of the Aleksin family on the territory of Belarus itself.

Back in early 2021, apparently under the threat of European sanctions, Aliaksei Aleksin ceased to be the co-owner of key companies. Shares in Energo-Oil and Belneftegaz, through which he controlled assets in many sectors of the Belarusian economy, were assigned to his sons, Dzmitry and Vital. Ina Aleksina's share in Belneftegaz decreased from 40% to 20%.

Also, the businessman hastened to disown businesses that fell under the sanctions as part of the third package of European sanctions adopted in December last year. Then the companies controlled by Aleksin ceased to be the owners of the IT developer Synesis and its subsidiary Synesis Stigma.

As time has shown, the fears of getting under the new EU sanctions package came true. On June 21, Alialsei Aleksin, along with 77 other natural persons from Belarus, was included in the new, fourth in a row, "black list" of the EU. It also included one of the companies associated with him - the logistics operator Bremino Group.