Kremlin has been seizing assets of some Western companies in Russia through decrees signed by President Vladimir Putin and court orders related to lawsuits over halted projects or blocked funds amid Western sanctions.
Below is a list of the companies affected so far.
AGROTERRA
Russia seized companies belonging to agricultural group AgroTerra and placed them under temporary management in April, including some backed by Dutch investment firms, a decree signed by Putin showed.
AMEDIA
Putin signed a decree transferring Amedia’s former assets to state management in September, after the Norwegian publisher left full control of its Russian printing houses to Nobel Peace Prize-winning Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov in April 2022.
CARLSBERG
The Russian state took control of Danish beer company Carlsberg’s stake in local brewer Baltika Breweries on July 16, putting it under “temporary management” of government property agency Rosimushchestvo, a decree signed by Putin showed.
COMMERZBANK
A Russian court ordered the seizure of German bank Commerzbank’s assets, worth 93.7 million euros ($101.9 million), as well as securities and the bank’s building in central Moscow, as part of a lawsuit involving Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank, court documents showed on May 18.
DANONE
The Russian state took control of the French yoghurt maker Danone’s Russian subsidiary Danone Russia on July 16, a decree signed by Putin showed, and brought it under temporary control of the government property agency.
Putin removed it from the list of assets placed under temporary management in March. Danone later said it had obtained regulatory approvals needed for the disposal of its Essential Dairy and Plant-based business in the country to Vamin R LLC.
DEUTSCHE BANK
A Russian court imposed the seizure of up to 238.6 million euros ($259.4 million) in securities, real estate and bank accounts of Deutsche Bank, along with its Russian subsidiary and Deutsche Bank Technology Center, court documents related to a lawsuit that also involves Commerzbank showed on May 18.
FORTUM
In April 2023, Putin signed a decree that established control over the Russian subsidiary of the Finnish utility company Fortum, which operates power plants in Russia. The CEO was replaced and the unit put under temporary asset management.
FRAPORT
Putin signed a decree on Dec. 1 that put St Petersburg’s Pulkovo Airport under the temporary management of a Russian holding company, taking control from German airport operator Fraport, Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority and investors from other Gulf states.
JPMORGAN CHASE
JPMorgan Chase said in a filing on May 2 that its assets in Russia may be seized after lawsuits in Russian and U.S. courts. It said the value of claims and orders to freeze assets exceeds its available assets in Russia.
A Russian court ordered in April the seizure of funds in JPMorgan accounts after Russian state-owned bank VTB sued to regain its funds blocked abroad. JPMorgan sued Russia’s VTB Bank in a bid to block VTB’s effort to recover $439.5 million.
OMV
Under presidential decrees published on Dec. 19, Austrian oil and gas company OMV’s stakes in the Yuzhno-Russkoye field and in the gas extraction Achimov projects are to revert to newly created Russian companies and offered for sale to Gazovyye Tekhnologii. OMV’s assets will then be sold to joint stock company SOGAZ.
ROLF
On Feb. 21, a Russian court ordered that ownership of shares in Rolf, a car dealership owned by a Cyprus-based firm, be handed over to the Russian state, Russian news agencies reported, after it was placed under temporary state management in December.
UNICREDIT
St Petersburg arbitration court ordered that UniCredit’s assets, accounts and property, and shares in two subsidiaries be seized as part of a lawsuit over an aborted gas project involving the Italian bank, court documents showed on May 18.
UniCredit said the seizure affected only a fraction of its Russian unit’s assets, not the entire subsidiary.
UNIPER
The Kremlin on April 2023 took action against Unipro, the Russian division of German utility Uniper that has five power plants in Russia, and introduced external management and a new CEO.
WINTERSHALL DEA
Under presidential decrees published on Dec. 19, Wintershall Dea’s stakes in the Yuzhno-Russkoye field and in the Achimov projects are to revert to newly created Russian companies and offered for sale to Gazovyye Tekhnologii, formalising the loss of control that BASF and Wintershall Dea had flagged since January 2023.
Wintershall Dea is a joint venture between BASF and Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman’s investment firm LetterOne.
(Compiled by Agata Rybska, Greta Rosen Fondahn and Tomasz Kanik; Editing by Christina Fincher and Milla Nissi)
Share This:
