Lida brewery goes to court over $12.8 million fine

February 20, BPN. The Belarusian State Control Committee fined Lidskaje Piva, a brewery based in Lida, Hrodna region, 35.8 million rubels (about $12.8 million) after an inspection, said Olvi Group, the brewery’s Finnish owner.

The brewery filed an appeal with a local court, it added. The proceedings are expected to last for months.

Olvi Group is also retracting its recent financial forecast citing uncertainty and said that it would not publish a new one.

It had expected a drop in profits in 2023 citing the uncertainty surrounding its Belarus-based business amid Russia’s war on Ukraine and currency fluctuations.

Olvi Group acquired a stake in the Lida brewery in 2009, but in March 2022 it announced that it would withdraw from Belarus, put its exports to Russia and Belarus on hold, and suspend investments in Belarus over Russia’s war on Ukraine.

However, in July 2022, the Belarusian government banned foreign holders from selling their shares in Belarusian businesses.