Russia takes control of more European corporate assets amid Ukraine tensions

French, German, Belgian and Swedish businesses are among those affected by a new presidential decree placing their Russian operations under external management as Moscow extends its measures against foreign companies

Russia has placed the local assets of further major European companies under temporary external management, extending its intervention in foreign-owned businesses amid continuing tensions over the war in Ukraine.

The move affects businesses including French flooring manufacturer Tarkett, German packaging group Menshen, Belgian hygiene products company Ontex and Swedish company Sverige International Holdings.

A decree signed by President Vladimir Putin on Thursday (October 15) places specified shares and ownership interests in Russian businesses under the management of a domestic company, Tsentr Kapital.

The decree also covers assets belonging to Eviosys, a former European metal-packaging company acquired by United States-based group Sonoco in December 2024. The affected Russian business is held through Sonoco’s Dutch subsidiary.

The measures allow designated Russian managers to exercise control over the assets without formally transferring legal ownership.

The decree identifies substantial interests in several Russian companies, including 100 per cent of Ontex RU and Eviosys Packaging Kuban, alongside shares and ownership interests in Russian flooring businesses associated with Tarkett.

It also places 12,565 ordinary shares in packaging company Kappa Rus, held by Sverige International Holdings, under the same management arrangements.

For Menshen, the decree covers the company’s entire Russian ownership structure, comprising a 99.71 per cent interest held by Menshen Beteiligungs-GmbH and the remaining 0.29 per cent held by Georg Menshen GmbH & Co. KG.

The latest action follows similar measures reported against other European companies, including Swiss food manufacturer Nestlé, French retailer Auchan and German wholesale group Metro.

The Kremlin has described the interventions as retaliation for the involvement of EU countries in the Ukraine conflict.

The Kremlin has also maintained that temporary management arrangements can be reversed, according to Reuters.

The interventions come amid a continuing dispute over approximately €210 billion in Russian sovereign assets frozen in Europe following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

The funds, much of which are held within the European financial system, remain a source of disagreement over their potential use to support Ukraine.

The latest decree was signed ahead of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s appearance at an EU summit in Brussels on Friday, where European leaders were discussing further support for his country.

Russia’s temporary management mechanism was introduced in April 2023, allowing authorities to place specified foreign-owned property and corporate interests under external administration.

At that time, Moscow took control of Russian assets belonging to German energy group Uniper and Finnish utility Fortum. 

The measures were subsequently extended to other European businesses, including French food group Danone and Danish brewer Carlsberg.

Fortum subsequently wrote down the full value of its Russian assets, saying Moscow’s intervention had resulted in a loss of control over its operations in the country.

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_{Main Image: Kremlin.ru / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)}