The authorities opposed the forced transfer of shares of foreign holdings to Russia

The Ministry of Economy has prepared a response to the proposal of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) on the forced transfer from foreign exchanges to Russia of depositary receipts and holding shares for Russian groups of companies. Previously, the association came up with an initiative to replace securities circulating on Western markets with Russian ones, with their subsequent distribution among the final beneficiaries in a declarative manner. This was supposed to solve the problem of the loss of control of the business and its ability to distribute dividends due to the blocking by foreign governing bodies of the decisions of real owners. The regulatory draft prepared by the RSPP was sent to First Deputy Prime Minister Andrey Belousov for consideration.

The report of the First Deputy Minister of Economic Development Ilya Torosov, sent to Belousov, states that the bill can be perceived as “an extrajudicial and gratuitous deprivation of property by a foreign holding.” This is contrary to the constitutional principles of protecting property rights and international treaties on the protection of investments, explains Torosov. Moreover, demands may be made against Russia and retaliatory measures may be introduced – moreover, against other Russian companies, the deputy minister clarifies.