MOSCOW, Dec 26 Reuters Russia39;s secondlargest lender, VTB, has acquired an agricultural company in southern Russia, which was nationalised after its former owners were accused of corruption and fled Russia, the bank said in a statement on Thursday.

The company, now called Agrocomplex Labinski, was nationalised in 2023 after an arrest warrant was issued for its former owner Andrei Korovaiko, and his business partner, Arkady Chebanov. Both businessmen are now living abroad.

VTB said it plans to increase the company39;s efficiency, streamline its operations, and eventually sell it at a profit. VTB had previously been tasked with streamlining the business of Russia39;s shipbuilding conglomerate, OSK.

Labinski, which controls assets of the nationalised Pokrovski holding, owns 240,000 hectares of land, producing grains, milk, sugar, and other agricultural products. The company says that it exports up to 400,000 metric tons of grains and oilseeds annually.

Reporting by Elena Fabrichnaya and Olga Popova, writing by Gleb Bryanski, editing by Alexandra Hudson

Source Reuters