Poroshenko’s Roshen factory in Russia will close in April

January 23, 2017 (uawire.org) The Roshen Corporation, which belongs to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, will cease its operation at the Lipetsk confectionery factory. This was stated by the company’s press service on it’s website on Friday, January 20th. "This decision was made due to economic and political reasons," the statement reads, without providing any further details. The production and the storage of the production facilities and infrastructure are planned to stop operating fully in April.

President Poroshenko repeatedly emphasized that it was impossible to sell the factory due to freezes on the factory’s property by the Investigative Committee of Russia in the framework of a criminal case. According to the company, in four years, the production volumes of the Lipetsk confectionery factory decreased three times. In July 2013, Rospotrebnadzor banned the import of Roshen products to the Russian Federation, which led to a decrease in the factory’s assortment. Among other reasons, the corporation called this move an "active discrediting of the factory’s activity in the Russian and Ukrainian media" and mentioned the pressure applied by authorities on businesses.

The 700 remaining employees have already been informed of the impending closure of the facility. In 2014, Poroshenko created a number of offshore companies. He explained that the Roshen confectionery could be transferred into a trust only through such a legal construct.