ENERGO: Putin takes Fortum and Uniper assets hostage in sanction tit-for-tat

President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree on subjecting foreign assets to mandatory “temporary management” in case of the seizure of any other private or public assets by the US or their allies, with the assets of Finnish and German energy majors Fortum and Uniper being the first to be arrested.

As followed by bne IntelliNews, the fallout of Russia’s full-scale military invasion of Ukraine triggered an exodus of foreign businesses. But in reality only one in ten of the major Western companies that promised to pull out of Russia after the start of the war in Ukraine have actually left the country.

A special government commission approves any foreign asset sale (at a minimum discount of 50%) and the government is mulling at least two additional “exit taxes” for companies pulling out of Russia and their new local beneficiaries.

The Bell notes that while Russian assets abroad have been seized since March 2022, Putin’s move comes more than a year later, which could completely shut the door on foreign businesses still in Russia and pave the way for eventual nationalisation of foreign assets.