In a high-stakes legal showdown, a Stoli Group subsidiary, SPI Spirits, and its billionaire owner Yuri Shefler, are fervently contesting a £1.6 million ($1.95 million) award granted to their former executive, Vlad Zabelin, who was terminated after blowing the whistle on alleged exploitation of the COVID-19 pandemic. The vodka giant vehemently claims that this substantial payout is excessive and should be reconsidered.
Stoli Group Fights Former Exec’s £1.6M Whistblowing Win : A Fight for Fairness
SPI Spirits and Shefler made their case before the Employment Appeal Tribunal, demanding a fresh evaluation of the massive award bestowed upon Zabelin, who served as the group’s chief investment officer at the time of his dismissal. Represented by Richard Leiper KC of 11KBW, they contend that a contractual cap of £270,000 in Zabelin’s employment agreement should be taken into account when determining the award’s fairness.
Leiper argued that Zabelin’s prior agreement to the compensation cap raises questions about whether the £1.6 million award is “just and equitable.” He emphasized that legislative constraints prohibit contractual terms from limiting tribunal awards, putting the contract cap under scrutiny.
The Whistleblower’s Ordeal
This legal saga began in 2020 when Shefler abruptly dismissed Zabelin during a phone call, an act deemed “out of the blue” by the Employment Tribunal. Zabelin had raised concerns that the company was unjustly employing the pandemic as a pretext to impose a 30% salary cut when the business was thriving financially.
