The Ministry of Internal Affairs put Yevgeny Chernyak, a Ukrainian businessman, owner of the Khortytsya brand, on the wanted list. The wanted card does not specify the article of the Criminal Code, but the Investigative Committee accused Chernyak of financing the armed forces of Ukraine and announced the initiation of a case under the article on financing terrorism.
The investigation claims that from February to April 2022, Chernyak transferred more than 500 million rubles to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Also, according to the IC, in June 2023, the businessman purchased for the Ukrainian forces "goods intended for combat operations" in the amount of more than 90 million rubles.
The message of the Investigative Committee also refers to the detention of two "trusted persons" of Chernyak, their names are not called. One of them was charged with giving a bribe, the other with mediating a bribe. In total, more than ten searches were carried out in Moscow, the Moscow region and other regions. The issue of imposing an arrest on the shares of organizations included in the holding, the beneficiary of which is Chernyak, is being considered.
In May 2022, the Russian Sever and Rodnik and K distilleries, which produced Khortytsya, Morosha, Pervak vodka from the portfolio of the Global Spirits holding of Ukrainian businessman Yevgeny Chernyak, changed ownership, Kommersant wrote . Market participants previously associated plants with Evgeny Chernyak himself. But Global Spirits denied that the businessman owns assets in Russia.
In February 2023, State Duma deputy from the Krasnodar Territory Dmitry Gusev sent a letter to Rosfinmonitoring with a request to ban the sale of Ukrainian brands in Russia, including vodka produced by Global Spirits, stating that the proceeds from their sale "go to finance the armed forces of Ukraine."