Putin tightens rules for strategic Russian companies

Specifically designated enterprises will need government approval to comply with certain foreign legal demands Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree tightening restrictions on the country’s strategic enterprises, requiring them to obtain government approval before taking certain actions mandated by foreign law.

Moscow established a register of strategically important companies in the early 2000s and has since gradually expanded regulations governing their activities abroad.

Russian law imposes strict limits on foreign investment, takeovers, and control of such enterprises, as well as their operations overseas.

The register covers a wide range of businesses across key sectors of the Russian economy, including state-owned giants such as energy corporation Gazprom and Russian Railways (RZhD), defense manufacturers, major state-backed banks, and high-tech firms.

Read more US proposes unfreezing Russian assets for Ukraine peace – FT The latest presidential decree further restricts the freedom of such companies to operate abroad without approval from the government.

The restrictions are applied “if those actions are subject to requirements imposed by foreign government authorities, international organizations, alliances of foreign states, or the bodies or institutions of such organizations and alliances, including regulatory and supervisory authorities, or by foreign legislation,” according to the Kremlin press service.

From now on, strategic enterprises, as well as their subsidiaries, will only be allowed to disclose information to foreign authorities that is disclosable under Russian laws, as well as information related to issuing and circulating securities.

Furthermore, strategic joint-stock companies will be prohibited from amending contracts with foreign counterparts on their own, as well as from disposing of equity stakes in foreign entities through sale or otherwise, getting rid of properties abroad, and ditching rights to conduct business in foreign countries.