Finnish Fortum could challenge Putin’s decree in the Supreme Court or international arbitration

How the interim management was introduced in Fortum and Unipro

Vladimir Putin on April 25 by decree introduced the possibility of temporary management of foreign assets in the Russian Federation. This regime is activated in the event that Russia, Russian legal entities or individuals are deprived of the right to own property on the territory of foreign states, as well as in the event of a threat to the national, economic, energy and other security of the country. The first assets transferred under temporary management were 83.73% of the shares of the energy company Unipro (owned by the German Uniper) and 98% of the shares of Fortum owned by Fortum.
The press service of the Federal Property Management Agency on April 25 explained that temporary management is being introduced in relation to generating assets that are “of paramount importance for the stable functioning of the Russian energy sector.” This will “ensure the uninterrupted operation of companies significant for the national economy and eliminate the risks of the influence of the political position of a number of unfriendly countries on the security of Russia,” the agency said. And on April 26, the Federal Property Management Agency changed the management of Fortum and Unipro. The Board of Directors of Fortum appointed Vyacheslav Kozhevnikov, the chief power engineer of Bashneft-Dobycha (part of Rosneft), as the CEO. Vasily Nikonov, head of the energy department of Rosneft, became the acting general director of Unipro.