10:37 25 November 2023
EU may impose sanctions on Russians who seized European companies' assets
The European Commission has proposed to impose sanctions on Russians who seized European companies that withdrew from Russia after the invasion of Ukraine, Politico reports.
After the start of the invasion of Ukraine, many Western companies withdrew from Russia. The assets of some of them were seized by Russians, under a decree by President Vladimir Putin that allowed for the seizure of assets of companies from "unfriendly countries." This fate befell, among others, the Danish brewery Carlsberg, the French food producer Danone, and the German sports company Adidas.
In total, according to the Russian agency Tass, since February 2022, Russians have seized the assets of 93 Western companies and assets worth $400 million.
Last week, the European Commission proposed the 12th package of sanctions against Russia. It mainly covers the import of Russian diamonds into the European Union, but also sanctions individuals or organizations that "have benefited from the mandatory takeover of ownership or control of entities operating in Russia that previously belonged or were controlled by entities from the Union."
