Russian prosecutors ask court to seize NCH Capital assets, Kommersant reports

MOSCOW, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Russian prosecutors have asked a Moscow court to seize the assets of U.S. private equity fund NCH Capital in Russia, saying the fund's owners financed Ukraine's military forces, the Kommersant newspaper said, citing court documents.

NCH Capital did not reply to a Reuters request for comment on the Kommersant report on Wednesday.

Prosecutors filed a lawsuit on December 9 against NCH Capital and its founders George Rohr, a U.S. citizen, and Moris Tabacinic, an Austrian citizen, who founded the group in 1993.

Reuters was not able to contact Rohr or Tabacinic.

AgroTerra, which is one of Russia's top-20 agricultural landholders and is owned by NCH Capital, was placed under temporary state management by a decree from Russian President Vladimir Putin in April 2024.

Kommersant said AgroTerra's assets in seven regions in central Russia were valued in the lawsuit at 73 billion roubles ($937 million). NCH Capital also holds agricultural assets in Ukraine, where it ranks as the fifth largest landowner.

NCH Capital said on December 5 that it has no plans to sell AgroTerra, after the head of Russia's second-largest bank said it was in talks to buy the firm.

Kommersant cited the court documents as saying that NCH Capital's owners were beneficiaries of a charity fund, created in 2025 in Ukraine, that sent trucks, communications equipment fuel and medicines to Ukrainian military units.

It also quoted the documents as saying that NCH Capital's Ukrainian subsidiary Agroprosperis provided free storage for ammunition in several Ukrainian regions where it operates while its financial arm handled donations for the army.

"George Rohr, Moris Tabacinic, and the company NCH Capital, by controlling the agricultural holding Agroprosperis, are deliberately and systematically financing the conduct of military operations against the Russian state," Kommersant quoted the document as saying.

($1 = 77.9000 roubles)