Putin takes control of Western assets in Russia for the first time: Companies named

For the first time, Russia has taken control of Western companies on its territory. Germany's Uniper SE and Finland's Fortum Oyj lost their rights to manage assets in Russia. The relevant decree was signed by Vladimir Putin personally.

According to Bloomberg, Putin's decree allowed the Russian government to take "temporary" control over companies from "unfriendly" countries. These are the United States and other countries that have imposed sanctions on Russia.

At the same time, the Russian authorities assure that the "temporary transfer of control" does not affect the ownership of the assets. However, no timeframe for the transfer of such management has been specified.

The appendix to Putin's decree lists only two enterprises, but states that the list of assets may be expanded "if necessary". Currently, these are:

• 83.7% of Uniper's shares in PJSC Unipro;
• 98.2% of Fortum's shares in the local PJSC Fortum.

Both companies tried to leave Russia and sell their stakes. But the deals were blocked by the Russian government.

Thus, Russia moved from threats to actions. As early as 2022, the country's authorities announced that they would take control of the assets of companies from "unfriendly countries". Such statements were made after Germany nationalised a subsidiary of of Gazprom. In addition, Rosneft's oil refining assets were arrested in the country.

As OBOZREVATEL previously reported, Russia's Welfare Fund may run out of money this summer due to a high deficit. Opportunities to cover the budget gap are shrinking.

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