The Belarusian factory Novus Industry informed the BIC that it does not supply furniture to occupied Ukrainian or Georgian territories and is unaware of any violations of the terms established during the transfer of the enterprise’s management. The company sent its response on October 8, the same day we published an investigation into its ties to a Lithuanian business and its sales of furniture resembling IKEA.
In our investigation, we reported how a former IKEA contractor continued producing similar furniture after the Swedish brand left the market and supplying it to Russia. The factory’s main Russian buyer supplied furniture to Abkhazia. Additionally, journalists found Novus Industry products among the offers for delivery to Ukraine’s occupied territories.
Until September 2026, Sigitas Paulauskas, owner of the Lithuanian holding company VMG Group, a major IKEA supplier, owned nearly all of the Belarusian company through other companies.
What the factory reported regarding shipments
Two conditions were set when the management of Novus Industry was transferred to the new management: compliance with applicable international sanctions and no business in occupied territories. Paulauskas had previously informed the BIC about this. In its response, the factory confirmed these conditions and clarified that they are enshrined in a shareholders’ resolution from October 2024 and a management transfer agreement from March 2025. The company refused to provide the documents, citing their internal corporate nature.
Novus Industry stated that it does not supply products to occupied territories in Ukraine or Georgia.
“The company has no information regarding violations of the aforementioned conditions,” the response states.
Meanwhile, according to customs data analyzed by the BIC, the Russian company Swedsta — the factory’s main buyer and exclusive distributor — supplied furniture to Abkhazia in February 2025. Georgia considers Abkhazia to be occupied by Russia. Ivetta Bychkova, a former employee of Novus Industry, owns one-third of this Russian company. The factory described Swedsta as an independent legal entity with which it has no connection, “either through ownership or management,” and stated that it is not responsible for the actions of third parties acting on their own behalf.
The BIC also found Novus Industry furniture for sale in an online store that offers delivery to occupied Ukrainian territory. An advertisement targeting buyers in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic featured a “Saga” series wardrobe, with the IKEA logo still visible in the photo. Store managers told a journalist posing as a customer that the goods are shipped from Moscow.
Until September 2026, the figure behind Novus Industry was Sigitas Paulauskas, the owner of VMG Group, a Lithuanian supplier to IKEA.
Who owns the company now?
Novus Industry confirmed that its new beneficial owners are UAE residents. The company claims that the firm they own has been operating the factory since March 2025. The factory did not disclose the new owners’ names. Previously, both Paulauskas and his lawyer had also refused to name them.
The Belarusian registry still lists five companies as shareholders of Novus Industry: three Lithuanian companies the Cypriot company Pronovus Holdings and the Dutch company Novus International Holdings, which Pronovus Holdings controls. According to the factory response, only the latter two will keep their shares. The shareholders signed the share transfer agreement in mid-August of 2026. The Belarusian factory did not specify what happened to the stake held by the third Lithuanian company that is indirectly controlled by Sigitas Paulauskas. The company clarified that the lack of changes in the registry was because registration of these changes has not yet been completed.
Meanwhile, the BIC has confirmed the change in ownership of Cyprus-based Pronovus Holdings in its registry. On September 4, 2026, Pronovus Management Holdco, a UAE-registered company, replaced Paulauskas as the sole owner of Pronovus Holdings.
How the factory explained the similarity of its furniture to IKEA
When asked about producing furniture that resembles IKEA models, Novus Industry responded that they “manufacture products based on designs and blueprints provided by customers.” The company did not name these customers in its response.
Earlier, a factory sales department employee offered a different explanation for the similarities in a conversation with a BIC journalist posing as a customer: the company had spent ten years manufacturing furniture exclusively for IKEA, so its new designs closely resembled its previous models. At the same time, she denied that these were copies.
Details of the organizations featured in the investigation
In this article, Novus Industry refers to Novus Industry LLC (formerly FLLC VMG Industry), registered in Belarus (taxpayer identification number (UNP): 812001297).
In this article, Novus International Holdings refers to Novus International Holdings B.V. (formerly VMG International Holdings B.V.), registered in the Netherlands (identification number [Chamber of Commerce number]: 50196790).
In this article, Pronovus Holdings refers to Pronovus Holdings Ltd (formerly VMG Holdings Limited), registered in Cyprus (registration number: ΗΕ 263599).
In this article, Swedsta refers to LLC Swedsta, registered in Russia (taxpayer identification number (INN): 7751226438).
In this article, Pronovus Management Holdco refers to Pronovus Management Holdco FZCO, registered in the United Arab Emirates (registration number: DMCC203133).
