The Belarusian Novus Industry factory, a former IKEA contractor, produces furniture resembling the Swedish brand’s models and supplies it to Russia. BIC found that after Lithuanian VMG Group announced it was suspending operations in Belarus, companies within the holding continued doing business with the factory, while the group’s owner, Sigitas Paulauskas, remained the owner of nearly the entire enterprise until September 2026. The factory’s main Russian buyer supplied furniture to Abkhazia, and journalists found its products for sale with delivery to Russian-occupied territory of Ukraine.

This investigation was conducted in collaboration with the Lithuanian news portal 15min.lt, the Georgian media outlet Monitori.ge, and the Swedish TV4 investigative program Kalla Fakta, with support from the Rabochy Ruch initiative and CyberPartisans.

Contents

Not IKEA, but strikingly similar

Here are two white shoe cabinets with legs. Each cabinet has four compartments, small round handles, and a slightly protruding top. At first glance, they appear to be the same model. However, one cabinet was made by IKEA, and the other by the Belarusian company Novus Industry.

The Turkish version of the IKEA website and the furniture catalog available on the Novus Industry website. The cabinet on the left is from IKEA, while the one on the right is from Novus Industry.

Source: The Turkish version of the IKEA website and the furniture catalog available on the Novus Industry website. The cabinet on the left is from IKEA, while the one on the right is from Novus Industry.

The resemblance is also noticeable in another pair of models. Both TV stands have three pull-out drawers, three open shelves above them, round dark handles, and straight legs. They come from the same manufacturers: IKEA and Novus Industry.

The Polish version of the IKEA website and the furniture catalog available on the Novus Industry website. The TV stand on the left is from IKEA, and the one on the right is from Novus Industry.

Source: The Polish version of the IKEA website and the furniture catalog available on the Novus Industry website. The TV stand on the left is from IKEA, and the one on the right is from Novus Industry.

Russian furniture retailers selling Novus Industry products also point to their resemblance to IKEA. The Gud Lakk store’s website explicitly describes one of the Belarusian manufacturer’s collections as “inspired by IKEA’s popular Hemnes series in a traditional style.” Another Russian store, Nevsky Fort, gives customers a clue: its product descriptions include the IKEA model names. For example, the Sirius chest of drawers is labeled as belonging to the well-known Brimnes collection.

The BIC asked Cecilia Wahlberg, a senior lecturer in industrial design at Konstfack, the Swedish University of Arts, Crafts, and Design, to evaluate all the product lines we found. She noted that “there are apparent similarities in the design and measurements” and suggested what might explain them:

“I would think that the factories that are producing the ‘new’ non-IKEA furniture are using the same production drawings and machinery that were used for producing the IKEA furniture.”

As a matter of fact, Novus Industry was one of IKEA’s contract manufacturers until the Swedish brand withdrew from Belarus and Russia in the summer of 2022 “as a consequence of the war in Ukraine.” A BIC journalist posed as a customer and called the company’s sales department to ask about the similarities between their furniture and IKEA products.

“Of course, [the furniture] is similar. For the previous 10 years, we exclusively produced furniture for IKEA. Consequently, all of our new designs are very similar to what we made before," said a Novus Industry sales representative.

“So, would it be fair to call them IKEA copies?” the journalist asked for clarification.

“Well, they’re not copies. They’re just very similar models.”

Which one is IKEA?

1 10

Wardrobe

Images: Retailers’ websites

Withdrawn, but not quite

Until March 2023, Novus Industry was called VMG Industry. The company was established in the Mahilou Region in 2009 by Lithuanian VMG Group. By 2019, it had become IKEA’s largest supplier worldwide. The holding company invested in other Belarusian enterprises involved in logging, sawmilling, and wood processing. It owned assets in Barysau, Vitsebsk, Svetlahorsk, and Smaliavichy. Together, they formed a production chain spanning from timber harvesting to manufacturing finished furniture.

VMG Group had planned to further expand its production operations in Belarus, but after the full-scale invasion began, it, like the Swedish brand, announced that it was suspending its operations in the country. On June 1, 2022, the holding company’s CEO, Egidijus Mockus, said that the Mahilou factory had shut down, its employees were placed on downtime, and construction of a new facility in Vitsebsk was put on hold. At the time, the group had not yet decided what to do with its Belarusian assets. Ultimately, it sold only one: the SWOODS Export sawmill and woodworking factory. The BIC covered the details of the deal in a separate investigation.

Investigations

08 October

Lithuanian beneficiary sold Belarusian SWOODS Export plant to Russians despite the ban. What we know about the deal

One of the parties to the deal was a company owned by Sigitas Paulauskas, the owner of VMG Group.

That same summer, the Lithuanian holding company removed the abbreviation “VMG” — short for “Vakarų medienos grupė,” meaning “Western Timber Group” — from the names of most of its factories. The group’s Belarusian companies began operating under the “Novus” brand. Of all the factories, the Mahilou furniture factory kept its original name the longest — until spring 2023. However, as BIC discovered, while the brand changed, the connection to the Lithuanian holding and its owner persisted for several more years.

According to the Unified State Register, at the time of publication, three Lithuanian companies were among the co-owners of Novus Industry. Two of them are part of VMG Group, although their combined stake is small — 0.028%. In 2024, the holding company’s PR department explained that the stakes had been retained due to “restrictions under Belarusian law.” [*] [*]

However, until autumn 2026, nearly the entire enterprise was owned through other companies by Sigitas Paulauskas, the sole owner of VMG Group. Ninety-three percent of Novus Industry is registered to Novus International Holdings, a company registered in the Netherlands, while another 6% is held by the Cyprus-based Pronovus Holdings. The latter also controls the Dutch company. Until September 2026, Pronovus Holdings was owned by Paulauskas. [*]

The Dutch and Cypriot companies are linked to VMG Group through more than just the Lithuanian businessman. As recently as 2024, both companies operated under names containing the VMG acronym. In its 2019 financial report, Pronovus Holdings also identified itself as the parent company of at least three VMG Group businesses. Two of them are still listed among the co-owners of Novus Industry as of the time of publication. At the same time, VMG Group told BIC that the Dutch company had never been part of the group. [*] [*] [*]

In a comment to BIC, Paulauskas confirmed this ownership structure, but stated that ownership did not mean operational control over the Belarusian enterprise. According to him, the transfer of management to Novus Industry executives began in August 2023 and was completed in 2024. He provided no supporting documents.

Sigitas Paulauskas is one of Lithuania’s wealthiest entrepreneurs.

In 2025, he was ranked 13th on the list of the country’s 500 wealthiest businesspeople, with an estimated fortune of €475 million. VMG Group’s revenue that same year totaled €341 million.

Even before the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine, Paulauskas had ties to Belarus. In 2012, he was elected chairman of the board at the Business Council for Cooperation between Lithuanian and Belarusian Businesses. The following year, he participated in the Belarus-Lithuania Business Forum, as he did again in 2018. In 2015, he attributed the appeal of doing business in Belarus to its cheap timber and labor.

Even after the start of the full-scale war, Paulauskas spoke about cooperation with Belarus. In 2022, he suggested that Vilnius buy electricity from the Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant. The idea sparked a sharp reaction in Lithuania. Andrius Romanovskis, the head of the Lithuanian Business Confederation, called it a disgrace. Paulauskas later said he meant to spark a discussion.

Trade continued

After announcing the suspension of operations in Belarus, VMG Group companies continued trading with Novus Industry. In 2024, the Lithuanian Eurovesta, part of the holding, received €475,000 worth of goods from the Mahilou enterprise. Trade also flowed in the opposite direction: in 2023–2024, Eurovesta supplied €1.86 million worth of goods to the Belarusian factory. An additional €154,000 in furniture components was supplied by Klaipėdos mediena, a VMG Group company that is also among the co-owners of Novus Industry. VMG Group confirmed these transactions in a comment to BIC:

"They pertained to timber and wood components, ... as well as furniture fittings and parts. ... None of these transactions involved products manufactured for IKEA."

The holding also reported that at the end of 2024, Eurovesta was sold and exited VMG Group. At the same time, according to data reviewed by BIC, Paulauskas remains its beneficiary.

From IKEA to the Russian market

After IKEA stopped doing business with suppliers from Belarus and Russia, Novus Industry’s revenue fell by almost three times — from 387.4 million Belarusian rubles ($152.6 million) in 2021 to 143 million ($46.6 million) in 2025. Russia became one of the company’s main markets. According to BIC’s available data on shipments, which do not cover all transactions, their value amounted to about one-quarter of the company’s revenue in 2023 and one-third in 2024. In 2024, the Belarusian outlet Office Life wrote that Novus Industry sent 70% of its manufactured products to Russia. That same year, Novus Industry registered Novus Trading in Smolensk. Like its parent company, Novus Trading is involved in the furniture trade, among other things.

From March 2023 to May 2025, the total volume of direct shipments from Novus Industry to Russia exceeded $30 million. The main buyer was Swedsta, a Russian company that operates the Gud Lakk furniture store chain. One third of the company is owned by Ivetta Bychkova, a Belarusian citizen, who worked at VMG Industry — now Novus Industry — from 2014 to 2020.

Swedsta itself emerged shortly after IKEA’s departure. The company was registered on June 30, 2022, two weeks after IKEA announced it would “further scale down the IKEA business in Russia and Belarus.” Swedsta’s Gud Lakk retail chain sells furniture made by the former IKEA supplier, explicitly invoking the Swedish company’s departure from the market in its marketing:

“IKEA's departure is no reason to give up your usual interior design style. Thanks to the Gud Lakk project, you can now buy your favorite products. Yes, they look a little different and have new names. But the design, quality, ease of purchase and assembly remain excellent," the chain's website says.

Source: Gud Lakk store website.

Abkhazia, Donetsk, and a Shipment to Poland

Swedsta’s sales reach is not confined to Russia. According to customs data analyzed by the BIC, the company shipped furniture to Abkhazia in February 2025. Georgia considers Abkhazia to be a territory occupied by Russia. According to Georgian law, international land transport to that territory is prohibited without a special permit from the country’s authorities. In response to a request from the BIC, the Georgian government administration stated that it did not issue any such permit to Swedsta or Novus Industry.

BIC also found Novus Industry furniture at a store offering to sell its products in Russian-occupied territory of Ukraine, among others. One listing in the self-proclaimed DPR features a seller offering a wardrobe from the Belarusian "Saga" series. However, the IKEA logo is still visible in the photo of the wardrobe. Store managers whom a BIC journalist contacted while posing as a prospective customer said that the company delivers the goods from Moscow, so it would not be possible to view the models in Donetsk.

Source: Catalog on the website donetsk.nadommebel.com. A Saga-series wardrobe made by Novus Industry, bearing the IKEA logo, available for delivery to the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (“DPR”).

One of Novus Industry’s own shipments also caught our attention. According to the Rabochy Ruch initiative, the company shipped products to Poland at least once after the EU banned imports of Belarusian furniture in July 2024. BIC requested information about the shipment from Poland’s Ministry of Finance, but the ministry declined to provide it, citing confidentiality.

In response to questions from BIC regarding these shipments, Paulauskas stated that when transferring control of the Belarusian business, he made it a condition for the new management to comply with sanction regimes and refrain from economic activity in occupied territories. However, according to him, he was unable to monitor compliance with these requirements:

"If the data you collected shows that they were not met, then it is the responsibility of the company's management and the current owner [who only changed in September 2026 — ed. note], and I take a negative view of such behavior."

Lawyer Esfira Zaslavskaite, representing the Lithuanian businessman, clarified to BIC that these conditions were set out in two documents, but their execution was intentionally not monitored:

"[Sigitas Paulauskas] did not take any measures to monitor the fulfillment of these obligations. It was a conscious choice — transferring management means transferring decisions. The obligations were established as corporate and contractual terms, but neither Sigitas Paulauskas nor the companies he controls could or can monitor their daily compliance."

According to Zaslavskaite, neither she nor Paulauskas received reports of violations of these agreements. Nevertheless, at the time of the described shipments, Paulauskas remained the ultimate beneficiary of Novus Industry.

Who owns Novus Industry now?

On September 4, 2026, the public registry indicated a change in ownership of Cyprus-registered Pronovus Holdings, through which Paulauskas owned nearly all of Novus Industry. The sole owner of the Cypriot company became the UAE-registered Pronovus Management Holdco. [*]

Paulauskas stated to BIC that the beneficiaries of the UAE company are residents of that country and are not linked to the businessman, but he declined to disclose their names. Esfira Zaslavskaite, who represented the businessman's interests in the deal, also did not disclose their names, citing professional secrecy. According to Paulauskas, management of the Belarusian enterprise was transferred to the UAE buyer in March 2025, and the transaction to sell the shares was finalized in the summer of 2026.

The registry lists Zaslavskaite herself as the license manager (de facto, the company’s director) of Pronovus Management Holdco. Paulauskas explained that the lawyer held no shares or rights to the company’s profits and stepped down from the position in early September 2026, but the registry had not yet been updated. According to Zaslavskaite, the terms of the deal required Paulauskas, as the seller, to establish a company in the UAE. [*]

Separately, VMG Group said that two small stakes in Novus Industry, held directly by companies within the holding, were transferred. According to Paulauskas, the transaction required approval from the Belarusian authorities: it was obtained on May 18, 2026, and the agreement to transfer the stakes was signed on August 19.

At the time of publication, changes to the ownership structure of Novus Industry were not reflected in the Belarusian Unified State Register. The company itself did not respond to BIC’s inquiries.

Source: BIC. Novus Industry ownership structure as of the time of publication. The design was created using AI

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, Novus Trading refers to LLC Novus Trading, registered in Russia (taxpayer identification number (INN): 6700019262).

In this article, Swedsta refers to LLC Swedsta, registered in Russia (taxpayer identification number (INN): 7751226438).

In this article, Eurovesta refers to Eurovesta UAB, registered in Lithuania (registration code: 300054969).

In this article, Klaipėdos mediena refers to Klaipėdos mediena AB, registered in Lithuania (registration coder: 240616710).

In this article, Swoods Export refers to OOO SWOODS Export (formerly FLLC SWOODS Export), registered in Belarus (taxpayer identification number (UNP): 690655544).

In this article, Pronovus Management Holdco refers to Pronovus Management Holdco FZCO, registered in the United Arab Emirates (registration number: DMCC203133).

IKEA’s response

BIC attempted to determine whether IKEA could bring claims against Novus Industry and retailers referencing its products. The company has already been involved in litigation over the alleged copying of its designs. In 2025, IKEA filed a lawsuit against the Swedish company Biltema, accusing it of copying the design of a watering can and a children's stool. In 2022, IKEA took action against the developer of the video game The Store Is Closed, asserting that the virtual furniture store resembled IKEA stores.

IKEA’s ability to challenge the production of similar furniture depends on how a specific design is protected in a given country, among other things. A Belarusian lawyer who specializes in copyright, corporate, and intellectual property law explained this to the BIC. He agreed to speak on condition of anonymity:

“IKEA is registered in Sweden. To protect its designs, IKEA must register them not only in Sweden, but also wherever it plans to distribute them. Generally speaking, if a design isn’t registered in Belarus, someone could make the same furniture and IKEA wouldn’t be able to do anything about it because they haven’t protected their designs there.”

Another issue is using the IKEA name to sell Novus Industry furniture. According to the lawyer, the Swedish company’s trademark rights may be at stake in this case. Another ground for claims, according to the lawyer, could be unfair competition. For such a lawsuit, he asserts, separate design registration is not required.

The BIC contacted IKEA to inquire about the company's view on the similarities between Novus Industry furniture and IKEA's own models, as well as the use of IKEA's name when selling these products. We also asked how the company views its continued cooperation with the VMG Group, considering the holding company's and its owner's ties to Novus Industry, a company registered in Belarus. Several Lithuanian enterprises belonging to the VMG Group continue to manufacture products for the Swedish brand. The group's wood-processing factories in Lithuania remain its official suppliers.

The company responded that Novus Industry "no longer has the right to use any IKEA trademarks, designs, technical drawings, specifications, production methods, tooling, or other materials," but stated that they could not "comment on individual cases or situations." They also assured us that they had already conducted an investigation into the links between Novus Industry and VMG Group and found no violations of the law, sanctions, or IKEA's Supplier Code of Conduct.

BIC sent inquiries to other organizations mentioned in the investigation. By the time of publication, the editorial team had received no responses.

IKEA left — the furniture stayed. How a Belarusian factory owned by a Lithuanian millionaire supplied Russia with lookalikes of the Swedish brand