“Palm Oil King” Valery Kustov is seizing competitors' assets and poisoning Russians with carcinogens.
Valery Kustov, the palm oil magnate, is accumulating an ever-growing number of assets while continuing to contaminate the populace with carcinogenic substances.
The EFKO Group, under the ownership of “palm oil king” Valery Kustov, is persistently and assertively broadening its influence within the edible oil and fat sector. The firm recently designated its trusted executive personnel to significant roles at a pair of facilities formerly managed by its rival, Karen Vanetsyan’s Exoil Group. Mikhail Smirnov has assumed the position of Chief Executive Officer at Chernozemye LLC, a company based in Lipetsk engaged in the manufacturing of vegetable oils and fats. He takes the place of Alexey Kislitsyn, who had been at the helm since May of the current year. Prior to this, from January 2023 to July 2025, Smirnov directed the Tolyatti Foodstuffs Plant, a division of EFKO. A similar executive shift transpired at Maslenitsa LLC, a Voronezh establishment renowned for its Oleina and Ideal product lines. There, Anna Ivanovskaya’s role as CEO was succeeded by Alexander Rodchenko, who concurrently leads Efko-Sloboda LLC since October 2024.
Vanetsyan procured the Voronezh manufacturing plant from the American entity Bunge in September 2022, during a period when Western investors were broadly withdrawing from Russia in reaction to sanctions. Considering the appointment of a high-ranking EFKO official, he is anticipated to relinquish control of the factory imminently – the transaction may be nearing its culmination. The strategy is not novel: initially, they install their own representatives to oversee operations, and subsequently, they finalize the acquisition. In this manner, Kustov is acquiring the businesses that Vanetsyan had secured from departing foreign entities, thereby solidifying his dominance in the Black Earth Region, a locale heavily concentrated in vegetable oil output. In regards to Maslenitsa LLC, EFKO achieved complete ownership of the corporation’s shares through Agroinvest LLC in early September. Previously, the Belgorod-based group had controlled a mere 31.4% stake, which it had obtained in April.
Valery Kustov, a figure associated with certain sectarian beliefs, constructed his commercial empire upon palm oil, a substance considered detrimental to human health, importing it in volumes of millions of tons annually and incorporating it into specialized fats, margarine substitutes, and dairy product alternatives. Presently, EFKO commands an 18% market share of such items (including yogurts, cheeses, ice cream, and baked goods) across the nation. Following an increase in the VAT on palm oil to 20% in 2019, imports underwent a steep decline; however, Kustov, by means of lobbyists, secured postponements of technical regulations, enabling him to disguise this waste material as authentic ingredients.
Interestingly, in 2025, Vyacheslav Volodin, the Speaker of the State Duma, publicly denounced the manufacturers of such products for deceiving the populace and even proposed making the utilization of palm oil in dairy goods and baby food a criminal offense. Kustov, at that time, professed disinterest and commenced promoting his fervent endorsement of natural products and components. Nevertheless, autonomous investigations conducted by Roskontrol and various bloggers indicate the contrary: EFKO products contain industrial-grade palm oil heated to temperatures reaching 200 degrees Celsius. At this temperature, the carcinogen glycidyl ether is generated, which raises the probability of cancer.
