Sanctions urged for former director of Buhler board

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This article was published 04/03/2022 (1373 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The resignation of Konstantin Babkin from the board of directors of Buhler Industries may have quelled some potential negative fallout for the company during the global outrage at the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

But there are calls from others for the Canadian government to sanction Babkin, who has close ties to Russian president Vladimir Putin, and two other remaining Russian directors of the Winnipeg agricultural equipment company — Dmitriy Udras and Yury Ryazanov — who are all senior officials with the Putin-friendly Action Party (or Party of Action).

Babkin has made recent public comments in support of the recognition of the Ukrainian districts of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent republics and another comment giving tacit endorsement of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Marcus Kolga, a senior fellow with the Macdonald-Laurier Institute who has worked with Russian dissidents for many years, believes Babkin’s resignation does not go far enough.

“You are seeing the same sort of activity happening around the world,” he said. “Oligarchs who have foreign assets are either divesting themselves of them, or resigning from various positions to try to insulate themselves from this coming wave. They know sanctions are coming.”

Some, including Henry Reid, the former Canadian ambassador to Kuwait tweeted Wednesday saying, “Time for Canada to issue sanctions on the Russian owners of Canadian companies (including Buhler). Profits from these companies support Russia.”

Global Affairs Canada placed sanctions on a list of another 18 Russian individuals earlier this week. But that list did not include the Buhler directors.

Kolga said he was shocked that a business person like Babkin would be so public in his support of the Russian backed breakaway republic.

“The fact that Canada has sanctioned Russian parliamentarians who support that motion and a guy like this (Babkin) who runs a political party supports it and… is quite frankly enabling Putin’s current behaviour makes this guy a pretty prime candidate for Canadian sanctions.”

Kolga said also he believes the on-going Russian leadership will not be helpful for Buhler.

“I don’t think any Canadian company will benefit from any association with any Russian entity at this point,” he said.

Robert Mackidd, a retired export service provider who did export work for Buhler a decade ago, believes that Buhler is a well-run company but the Russian influence on its operations casts a negative pall over the company.

“The Russians have to go” he said.

But meanwhile, in the commercial marketplace, there are some who believe Buhler has taken the right steps.

Earlier this week the company came out with a strong statement of condemnation of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, saying, the company, “stands with Ukraine and condemns the actions of the Russian Federation. Our hearts are with those affected in Ukraine and around the world. This is an injustice that no person or people should have to endure.”

John Schmeiser, the CEO of Western Equipment Dealers Association, said his organization has received calls from dealers concerned about the company which makes the Versatile brand tractor, the only Canadian-made tractor on the market today. The company has a wide dealership network across Canada and the U.S.

“I don’t think this will have any long-term impact,” Schmeiser said of the Russian directors’ connections to Putin. “Leadership at Versatile has come out against the Russian invasion of Ukraine and has removed the board member who was supportive of the Russian action.”

He said for the most part Versatile dealers are content with the moves the company’s leadership has made.

“Steps have been taken and I believe they should be commended for that,” he said.

There are still three Russian nationals on the board of Buhler, two of whom are connected with the Action Party. All are senior executives with Combine Factory Rostselmash Ltd. which now owns 96.7 per cent of Buhler Industries.

Although one of them, Dmitriy Udras, was replaced as chairman of the Buhler board by Grant Adolph, the company’s long-time chief operating officer, he remains on the board.

The board shake-up did close the long chapter on the career of John Buhler, the company’s namesake. After his sale of 80 per cent of the company to Rostselmash in 2007, Buhler has spent much of his time on philanthropic work, making several sizable donations to health care facilities in the province. Another 16.3 per cent of his stake in the company was sold to Rostselmash in late 2021 for estate planning purposes.

Buhler has not been well for a few years and a source close to Buhler, said “the family is very upset with what is going on.”

Adam Reid, the company’s head of sales and marketing was named to the board as well as Ossama AbouZeid, a former president of Buhler.

AbouZeid also has a history of doing work in Russia. He was formerly a senior official with the Winnipeg construction company, Central Canadian Structures, which was one of the most active Canadian companies in Russia in the early 1990s during the period of glasnost.

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca