Russian businessman Sergei Shnaider, the owner of the Mere discount retail chain operating in Lithuania and Latvia, has been added to the European Union’s 21st sanctions package, prompting the chain’s operators in Latvia to halt their activities, according to Latvia’s Financial Intelligence Unit.
The Latvian authority said sanctions applied to Latprodukti, which operated the Mere chain in Latvia, and the Latvian branch of Lithuanian company Valiente. Both companies are required to immediately cease operations in compliance with EU sanctions.
According to the Financial Intelligence Unit, Shnaider was sanctioned for materially or financially supporting actions that undermined or threatened Ukraine’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence.
The agency said Shnaider indirectly owned more than 50% of both Latprodukti and Valiente’s Latvian operations.
LRT reported last year that Valiente’s shares had been acquired by Spanish company Vigalight, which was owned by three Russian citizens who previously controlled the Mere retail chain. According to Spain’s corporate register, Shnaider owns 79% of Vigalight, while Andrei Veikulainen holds 15% and Valeriy Yakovlev owns the remaining 6%.
Last October, Lithuania’s then Economy Minister Edvinas Griksas said that Mere could be added to the sanctions list despite changes in its ownership structure.
Latprodukti, established in 2020, reported revenue of 31.57 million euros in 2024, up by 53% YoY, according to company filings. It posted a net loss of 71,800 euros after recording a profit in 2023. Its 2025 financial results have not yet been published.
The company is directly owned by Serbia-based SKTrade DOO Beograd, while Shnaider is listed as its ultimate beneficial owner.
Mere operates 12 stores in Latvia and around 20 in Lithuania. (LRT)