The Russian director installed over Rockwool’s seized Russian factories has spoken publicly for the first time, saying his Moscow company was created specifically to take over Western firms’ Russian operations and to shield its real owners from sanctions.
DR Nyheder reports that Timur Amirov, director of the Moscow company best translated as Construction Assets Development JSC, answered a series of written questions. He is the first representative of the firm to speak to a Danish outlet. According to Amirov, the company was set up to manage construction assets and to protect its real managers, who he says are well known in the market.
The company was registered in September 2025 and, per DR, initially had no employees and an address at a modest office center in northwestern Moscow. Amirov told DR that it now has 110 employees and attached consultants. Its task, he said, is to temporarily administer the factories and later also the Russian assets of Dutch paint group AkzoNobel.
How the factories changed hands
Control shifted on January 13, 2026, when a decree from Russian President Vladimir Putin placed Rockwool‘s Russian business under the company’s temporary administration. As reported by Interfax, Decree No. 1101 was signed on December 31, 2025, and entered into force on publication. It covered Rockwool LLC and a 68 percent stake in Rockwool-Volga LLC.
On paper, Rockwool in Denmark still owns the Russian company, but it has no influence over operations. In its stock exchange announcement of January 13, 2026, Rockwool said it had lost control of its four Russian factories and would deconsolidate the business, writing down an equity value of 469 million euros as of December 31, 2025. The same announcement put the factories’ 2025 revenue at 261 million euros.
Amirov told DR that the Russian business openly cooperates with sanctioned Russian companies, and that many restored contracts fall outside the defense industry. He named work on infrastructure for the Northern Sea Route. He also said all employees kept their jobs after the Danish parent lost control.
The independent Russian outlet The Bell reported in January, citing a Kremlin source, that the company is linked to state defense conglomerate Rostec, which has been under EU sanctions since 2022. Amirov denied any Rostec involvement and repeatedly declined to name the owners. DR states it has not been able to verify The Bell’s information.
The conflict has since escalated over a loan the Danish parent received from its Russian company before the invasion. Rockwool press chief Rasmus Windfeld has told DR the company will not repay it, calling the external administration illegal and repayment a breach of sanctions. Amirov called the refusal further proof of unreasonable conduct by the shareholder, and rejected the claim that the business was stolen.
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Danish coverage of the January decree included Børsen, which reported that Rockwool’s share price fell after the seizure became known. Rockwool is part of the C25 index.
