The National Agency for Asset Tracing and Management (ARMA) received five bids by the deadline for the competition to select a manager for IDS Ukraine—the producer of “Morshynska” and “Mirgorodska,” which is linked to Russian oligarch Mikhail Fridman.
“The competitive selection process has reached its final stage. Next up is the evaluation of the submitted proposals and the selection of the most professional and capable administrator,” the agency reported on Facebook on Saturday.
IDS Ukraine’s assets were transferred to ARMA’s management pursuant to a court ruling. This involves an integrated production complex with a full cycle of operations: from mineral water extraction to production and distribution of products, including abroad. In late 2024, the Ministry of Justice filed a petition with the High Anti-Corruption Court (VAKS) to transfer the corporate rights of all seven companies in the group to the state, but the case is still pending in court.
In March 2023, an administrator—LLC “Carpathian Mineral Waters”—was selected for two companies in the group—PJSC “Morshyn Mineral Water Plant ‘Oscar’” and PJSC “IDS” (IDS Ukraine)— but the agreement was not approved by the Antimonopoly Committee, and in 2025 it was terminated as unfulfilled.
In the fall of 2025, then-Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko announced that ARMA had launched a procedure to transfer the entire IDS asset complex to management through a public auction. On June 22, 2026, it was reported that ARMA would make another attempt to select a manager.
IDS Ukraine opposes holding the tender. Among its arguments is that more than 50% of the company’s shares are owned by verified international investors: the Patarkatsishvili family (34.83%), the Georgian government (7.73%), and minority shareholders (7.45%). It was also noted that ARMA does not have the proper authority to hold the competition and has not identified the assets as required by law.
In addition, IDS Ukraine stated that all shareholders—not just sanctioned individuals with Russian citizenship—have been completely removed from management and do not have access to the company’s revenues.
Holding a new competition to select an asset manager for IDS Ukraine, the producer of the “Morshynska” and “Mirgorodska” mineral waters, before the High Anti-Corruption Court issues a ruling may have limited prospects, said Pavlo Velykorechanyn, an expert with the Verkhovna Rada’s Anti-Corruption Committee and former deputy head of ARMA, in an exclusive interview with the “Interfax-Ukraine” news agency.
ARMA previously announced another tender to select an asset manager for IDS Ukraine and expects to hold it in September.
However, according to Velykorechanyn, there are legal obstacles that could significantly dampen the interest of potential participants.
In particular, certain court rulings lack a clear prohibition on current operators from using the companies’ assets. This could complicate the actual transfer of control to the new manager.
In addition, according to the company’s own data, the share of individuals subject to sanctions in IDS Ukraine is 49.7%, i.e., less than 100%. Under the new legislation, in such a situation, management requires either the consent of the other co-owners or a decision to forfeit the relevant share to the state budget.
The High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) is currently considering a case regarding the forfeiture of the asset to the state; a decision is expected in the fall.
“Until the HACC issues a decision to forfeit this stake to the state and it is transferred to the State Property Fund, the prospects for ARMA conducting any tenders regarding IDS are highly uncertain,” Velikorechanyn noted.
Previously, several attempts were made to transfer IDS Ukraine’s assets into management. In particular, an agreement was signed with the company “Karpatska Dzherelna,” but the procedure for approving the concentration with the Antimonopoly Committee lasted about a year and a half and was not completed, after which the agreement was terminated.
The IDS Ukraine Group of Companies (trademarks “Morshynska,” “Mirgorodska,” and “Alaska”) has called it illogical for the National Agency for Asset Tracing and Management (ARMA) to conduct a comprehensive audit of its financial and asset status during the competitive selection process for a new corporate rights manager.
The day before, ARMA announced the start of an audit of the financial and asset status of eight legal entities within the IDS Ukraine group (specifically, PJSC “Mirgorod Mineral Water Plant,” PJSC “Morshyn Mineral Water Plant ‘Oscar,’” and LLC “IDS Aqua Service”) prior to the transfer of the asset to the new manager. The agency sent requests to the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), the State Tax Service (STS), and banks seeking details on cash flows since December 2022, an analysis of the over 1 billion UAH reported by the company to be in its accounts, and verification that former owners subject to sanctions have no influence.
“Conducting this audit is directly related to preparations for the repeat tender. Its goal is to prevent a situation in which the new manager receives the asset without complete information about the status of accounts, cash flows, and other material circumstances affecting its economic value,” ARMA explained.
The group of companies noted that the repeat tender was announced in advance, and potential participants are relying on figures that have already been made public; therefore, the measures initiated by the agency will not provide any practical benefit for the tender.
“The repeat tender was announced as early as July 10, 2026, and the deadline for submitting bids is August 22. Announcing an audit just a few days before the deadline for submitting documents is illogical, since its results will not be known until after the submission period has ended and will in no way assist the participants in the tender,” the statement said in response to ARMA’s published position.
IDS Ukraine emphasized that as of August 14, none of the group’s companies had received any official requests from ARMA, and that the audit of business transactions falls under the jurisdiction of other government agencies, which regularly carry out such measures. The company also noted that only the group’s corporate rights are under seizure, not its property or bank accounts.
Regarding the agency’s statement about the possible continued influence of former beneficiaries, the company noted that all shareholders—including those subject to sanctions and holding Russian citizenship—have been completely removed from management and have had no access to income or dividend payments since 2022, as confirmed by the State Tax Service.
“We emphasize that since 2022, none of the company’s shareholders has received dividends. This is officially recorded in the financial statements and confirmed by letters from the State Tax Service of Ukraine. Furthermore, this year, the Main Directorate of the State Tax Service in Lviv Oblast, based on a court ruling, collected 240 million UAH in net profit for 2022–2023 from PrJSC “Morshyn Mineral Water Plant ‘Oscar’” (part of the IDS Ukraine group),” IDS added.
According to the group, more than 50% of the shares are held by international investors: the Patarkatsishvili family (34.83%), the Georgian government (7.73%), and minority shareholders (7.45%). At the same time, the company’s net asset value rose from 2.097 billion UAH as of the date of the seizure in June 2022 to 3.928 billion UAH by the end of 2025, while the group’s total value in the case before the High Anti-Corruption Court was estimated at over 8 billion UAH.
As previously reported, in the fall of 2022, ARMA, pursuant to a court decision, assumed management of the corporate rights, industrial designs, and trademarks of the IDS Ukraine group’s companies. In April 2023, “Carpathian Mineral Waters” was selected as the asset manager for “Morshynska,” but the transfer of the asset into its management never took place. In March 2025, ARMA announced the termination of the agreement on the grounds that it had not been implemented.
In November 2025, ARMA announced a tender to select a company to provide interim management of IDS Ukraine’s assets—including production facilities, logistics, and the uninterrupted operation of its enterprises.
The terms of ARMA’s tender were criticized by a number of companies ready to participate in the competition to manage IDS Ukraine’s assets. Geological Investment Group LLC, Verkhnodniprovsk Oil Extraction Plant LLC, and Individual Entrepreneur Vsevolod Omelianovych Bilas filed a complaint with the Antimonopoly Committee (AMCU) and requested the removal of discriminatory requirements in the tender documentation, which artificially restrict competition and effectively bar most Ukrainian companies from participating in the management of the group’s assets.
Among such ARMA requirements, potential bidders cited the requirement to have at least 15 highly specialized professionals (engineers, power engineers) on staff, whose higher education records must be listed in the Unified State Electronic Database on Education (EDEBO). However, the database contains complete information on diplomas only for those issued after 2000. Additionally, a contest participant must have “production of non-alcoholic beverages” as its primary business activity, which precludes the participation of professional management companies and consortia specializing in asset management.
Separately, it was noted that direct competitors of IDS Ukraine were admitted to the tender, which is prohibited by the new law “On ARMA” (which took effect after January 30, 2026).
The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) accepted a complaint from potential tender participants.
In September 2024, the Ministry of Justice filed a lawsuit with the High Anti-Corruption Court seeking to transfer the assets of IDS Ukraine and other assets belonging to Russian oligarchs Mikhail Fridman, Petr Aven, Andriy Kosogov, and the company Rissa Investments Limited to the state budget. Specifically, this involves 100% of the shares in PJSC “Mirgorod Mineral Water Plant,” PJSC “Morshyn Mineral Water Plant ‘Oscar,’” PJSC “Industrial and Distribution Systems” (IDS), as well as 100% of the shares in LLC “IDS Aqua Service,” LLC “Moschnost,” PE “IVA,” and SE “NOVA.COM,” which are indirectly owned by Rissa Investments Limited.
In October 2024, IDS Ukraine called on the Ministry of Justice to prohibit ARMA from taking any actions to transfer part of the assets to the management company and to carry out nationalization under a scenario favorable to the state.
On December 25, 2025, the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) granted the petition filed by potential participants in the tender to select an asset manager for IDS Ukraine and ordered the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) to launch a pre-trial investigation into the abuse of authority by ARMA’s management during the selection of a manager for the IDS Ukraine group of companies. According to the High Anti-Corruption Court’s decision in Case No. 911/13129/25, the complaint filed by an attorney from Asters Law Firm on behalf of New World Value Fund Limited regarding the inaction of NABU officials—specifically, their failure to enter information about a criminal offense into the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations—was granted.
In May 2026, ARMA again announced a tender to appoint an asset manager for IDS Ukraine with a nominal value of corporate rights exceeding 53 million UAH, but received only one bid.
In July 2026, ARMA announced the launch of a repeat tender. The subject of the procurement included the corporate rights of several group companies at once. Specifically, the tender included 2,045,145 shares of PrJSC “Mirgorod Mineral Water Plant” (with a total nominal value of 21.47 million UAH), a 100% stake in the authorized capital of LLC “Moschnost” held by PrJSC “Morshyn Mineral Water Plant ‘Oscar’” (16.18 million UAH), as well as stakes in LLC “IDS Aqua Service” (990,000 UAH),
PJSC “Industrial and Distribution Systems” (4.5 million UAH), the Cypriot company International Distribution Systems Limited (8.8 million UAH), PP “IVA,” and DP “Nova.com” (1.5 million UAH).
The acting head of ARMA told Interfax-Ukraine in a comment that the collection of bids on the Prozorro platform will continue until August 22, and the electronic system may set the date for the tender to select a manager for the seized corporate rights of the IDS Ukraine group for early September 2026.
IDS Ukraine, the largest player in the country’s water market, increased sales of traditional products by 8.4% in March-July this year compared to the same period last year, the company told Interfax-Ukraine.
“Comparing this year’s and last year’s figures, we see an average monthly growth of 8.4% in March-July 2023 compared to the same period in 2022 – and this is without taking into account sales of our new products,” IDS Ukraine said without specifying absolute figures.
According to the company, it maintains its leadership in the market, where its share was about 40% before the war.
IDS Ukraine said it has recently increased its innovation activity and launched new products in related categories: mineral water energy drink Volya and Morshynska lemonade in three flavors: apple, orange and peach, and grapefruit, but did not specify their sales volumes.
As for exports, the company said that since the beginning of the war, it has focused on the domestic market, meeting humanitarian needs and creating reserves.
“Currently, we are only making test deliveries and analyzing sales, and a clear export strategy is still under development,” IDS Ukraine said.
Emphasizing the influence of brand reputation on consumer preferences, the company also announces charitable assistance worth UAH 230 million since the beginning of the war, cooperation with more than 200 charitable foundations and donations of products worth more than UAH 160 million.
IDS Ukraine is a Ukrainian group of companies founded in 1996, the largest national producer of bottled water. The holding includes Morshyn Mineral Water Plant Oscar, Myrhorod Mineral Water Plant, IDS distribution company and IDS Aqua Service, a water delivery operator.
The Group owns the Morshynska, Myrhorodska, Alaska and Aqua Life trademarks.
The Board of Directors of IDS Ukraine Group, which produces mineral water under Morshynska and Mirgorodska brands, decided not to accrue or pay dividends for 2022 and decided to direct all available funds to charitable purposes, the holding said in a press release on Wednesday.
“The company’s management and non-sanctioned shareholders fully share the state’s just desire to protect the economy and the country. That is why, back at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, it was decided to forgo dividends in 2022 and direct all available funds to charity,” the document states.
According to the press release, 100% of the corporate rights of the group’s shareholders have now been seized and transferred to the National Agency for the Detection, Search and Management of Assets Derived from Corruption and Other Crimes (ARMA) because of the sanctions imposed on its shareholders with Russian citizenship. At the same time, according to IDS Ukraine, more than 50% of the holding’s securities belong to persons to whom sanctions were not applied – citizens of Great Britain, Georgia and Ukraine.
The press release notes that IDS Ukraine provided more than UAH 100 mln of charitable aid in 2022; in particular, it transferred water in excess of UAH 67 mln for the needs of military personnel, the wounded, displaced persons and residents of de-occupied territories. In addition, the holding continues to pay salaries for a hundred and fifty of its mobilized employees, as well as buying for them ammunition and equipment.
“For their part, the non-sanctioned shareholders of the company, even though the state grossly violates their property rights, consider the provision of charitable assistance in 2023 as one of the priority areas of the companies. Only in January 2023, 120 thousand liters of water were transferred to Kherson, and the total amount of transferred products already this year is about 500 thousand liters,” the mineral water producer summarized in a press release.
As earlier reported, on February 10 ARMA announced a competition for the selection of a manager for arrested assets of IDS Ukraine, which produces and sells mineral water under brands Morshinskaya, Mirgorodskaya and Borjomi.
Earlier, Marko Tkachuk, the general director of IDS Ukraine, said in response to Interfax-Ukraine news agency inquiry that the transfer of corporate rights of the company worth more than UAH 10 billion to ARMA will not affect the economic activities of the group. He also reminded that the decision about the transfer of corporate rights of the sanctioned IDS shareholders with Russian citizenship to ARMA was made by Kiev Shevchenko District Court on November 9 and 11, 2022.
On November 23 last year, the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine (BES) reported about the arrest of corporate rights of the Russian shareholders of the IDS Ukraine in order to avoid their withdrawal from Ukraine of the assets of seven enterprises for the production and sale of drinking water. According to the BEB, these enterprises are actually owned by them through a non-resident offshore company under their control.
IDS Ukraine is a Ukrainian group of companies founded in 1996, the largest national producer of bottled water. The holding includes Morshynsky mineral water plant “Oskar”, “Mirgorod mineral water plant”, the distribution company “IDS” and water delivery operator “IDS Aqua Service”.
GK owns trade marks Morshinskaya, Mirgorodskaya, Alaska and Aqua Life.
The National Agency for Detection, Search and Management of Assets Derived from Corruption and Other Crimes (ARMA) has finished accepting applications from candidates for the position of asset manager of mineral water producers and sellers, in particular, Morshynska produced by IDS Ukraine holding.
According to the agency’s website on Friday, six companies applied to ARMA. Their representatives intended to participate in the competitive selection of a manager for the seized assets of producers and sellers of mineral waters.
The agency specified that it would consider the proposals of potential managers and would decide on the results of the selection after a thorough examination of the documents submitted by them to determine whether they meet the requirements of the tender. Information on the outcome of the tender will be made public immediately after the decision.
The agency reminded that on February 9 it announced a competition in which the participants were proposed to manage the corporate rights of the company-producer of soft drinks and mineral water in the form of 100% share in the authorized capital of this legal entity in the amount of 8,8 million UAH. Furthermore ARMA is looking for the manager of corporate rights of a foreign company, namely the shares in a legal entity specializing in the wholesale of food, beverages and tobacco products, with a total nominal value of UAH 4.5 mln.
As reported, on February 10 ARMA announced a competition for the selection of a manager for arrested assets of IDS Ukraine, which produces and sells mineral water under brands Morshynska, Mirgorodska and Borjomi.
Earlier, Marko Tkachuk, the general director of IDS Ukraine, said in response to Interfax-Ukraine news agency inquiry that the transfer of corporate rights of the company worth more than UAH 10 billion to ARMA will not affect the economic activities of the group. He also reminded that the decision about the transfer of corporate rights of the sanctioned IDS shareholders with Russian citizenship to ARMA was made by Kiev Shevchenko District Court on November 9 and 11, 2022.
On November 23 last year, the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine (BES) reported about the arrest of corporate rights of the Russian shareholders of IDS Ukraine in order to avoid their withdrawal from Ukraine of the assets of seven enterprises for the production and sale of drinking water. According to the BEB, these enterprises are actually owned by them through a non-resident offshore company under their control.
IDS Ukraine is a Ukrainian group of companies founded in 1996, the largest national producer of bottled water. The holding includes Morshynsky mineral water plant “Oskar”, “Mirgorod mineral water plant”, the distribution company “IDS” and water delivery operator “IDS Aqua Service”.
GK owns trade marks Morshinskaya, Mirgorodskaya, Alaska and Aqua Life.
