The company of Russian billionaire Andrey Molchanov has filed a lawsuit against Ukraine with the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) over the confiscation of Aeroc concrete plants. This was reported by Forbes Ukraine.

Until 2022, Aeroc was Ukraine’s largest producer of aerated concrete blocks with plants in Obukhiv and Berezan, Kyiv region. In 2021, according to YouContol, Aeroc’s revenue amounted to UAH 1.83 billion. According to the SBU, the company financed the war in Ukraine. In June, the company was transferred to the custody of the ARMA. Earlier, Trap Aggressor found out how Aeroc’s assets were stolen after their arrest.

Aeroc Investment Deutschland GmbH, which is controlled by Molchanov’s LSR Group, filed a lawsuit with ICSID based on a bilateral investment agreement between Ukraine and Germany. The case was registered on June 18. 

“The lawsuit concerns two plants in Kyiv owned by Aeroc, one of the largest producers of aerated concrete products in Ukraine,” Forbes Ukraine reports.

Aeroc is challenging the confiscation not only in international arbitration but also in the Constitutional Court of Ukraine. According to the plaintiff, Ukraine’s sanctions mechanism violates property rights, principles of legal certainty and equality.

The state confiscated Aeroc and transferred it to the State Property Fund in June 2023. The plants stopped production after nationalization. At that time, the company’s revenue decreased by more than 1500 times to UAH 1.16 million.

In December 2023, the assets were sold at auction for $45 million to a company associated with businessman Gennadiy Butkevych. In early June, Aeroc plants resumed operations under a new brand.