MOSCOW, August 12 (RIA Novosti) – The St. Petersburg office of Finnish company Valio was searched as part of an ongoing bank fraud investigation and has no relation to the company’s business activity in Russia, a spokesman for the Russian Investigative Committee said Tuesday.
“The search, conducted by Investigative Committee officers, was intended to obtain more evidence in a criminal case and has no relation whatsoever to Valio’s activities,” Vladimir Markin said.
Valio, Finland’s leading dairy company, exports 20 percent of its products to Russia. The company’s plants in Russia employ nearly 500 workers. Last week following an import ban on food products from Europe imposed by Moscow in response to Western sanctions, Valio announced it could put 800 of its staff on unpaid leave as part of a reorganization plan.
On August 7, Russia unveiled a list of banned food and agricultural products from countries that imposed US-backed sanctions against Moscow. The one-year ban targets beef, pork, fish, poultry, fruits and vegetables and nuts, as well as cheese and other dairy from the United States, the European Union, Canada, Australia and Norway. Finland is among the countries that will be hit the hardest by the measures, as the embargo could cost the Finnish dairy industry 400 million euros ($534.1million).
