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. The measures is forcing the chain to close all its supermarkets operating in Lithuania, 15min.lt reported on Friday.
According to 15min.lt, several of the Mere shops in Vilnius appeared to be already closed on Friday afternoon.
Contacted by BNS, a representative of Mere declined to comment on whether the closures were temporary or if they were linked to the sanctions.
“Due to technical issues, we are not operating anywhere in Lithuania,” the representative, who declined to give her name, told BNS.
The Ministry of Economy and Innovation confirmed on Friday that the owners of the Svetofor Group – which also owns the Mere stores in Lithuania – are under EU sanctions. As of Thursday, all funds and assets belonging to these individuals within the EU must be frozen, and they are prohibited from receiving funds or other economic resources.
Latvia’s Financial Intelligence Unit also reported that the chain’s operators in Latvia will have halt their activities.
The Latvian authority said sanctions apply to Latprodukti, which operates 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 undermine or threaten Ukraine’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence.
The agency said Shnaider indirectly owns 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 is 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 Grikšas 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 53% from the previous year, 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.
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