Drinking the company dry: Yuri Shefler’s Amber Beverage Group drains Latvijas Balzams into insolvency

Jun 7, 2026, 6:42 AM

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Drinking the company dry: Yuri Shefler’s Amber Beverage Group drains Latvijas Balzams into insolvency

Latvijas Balzams has published its first-quarter report, and the figures read like a death sentence: revenue has fallen by 30%, sales are down by 36%, tax debt has reached 46.4 million euros, and the company has lost another 50 employees over the past year.

90% of Latvijas Balzams is owned by Yuri Shefler’s Amber Beverage Group (ABG). It is this holding company that dealt the blow: the enterprise lent 143 million euros (75% of all its assets) to parent and affiliated structures.

Practically all key assets, including the Riga Black Balsam brand, have been pledged as collateral for the holding company’s debts. In April, a Luxembourg court opened reorganization proceedings regarding ABG, and banks and bondholders are now filing claims in which Latvijas Balzams is liable as a pledgor.

Shefler’s closest friend, Petr Aven, is under sanctions. Latvijas Balzams is, in all likelihood, not going to survive in its current form. The Riga Black Balsam brand will almost inevitably pass to creditors or a new owner.

Ashley Miller

Business & Markets Reporter