Russia has taken control of the local assets of four European companies—Tarkett from France, Menshen from Germany, Sverige International Holdings from Sweden, and Ontex from Belgium—due to Europe’s support for Ukraine during the war. This action is part of a decree by President Vladimir Putin, who also noted similar actions against other companies like Nestle and retailers Auchan and Metro last month.
The Russian government stated that the takeover of these assets is linked to the countries’ roles in “illegal expropriations” of Russian property. A temporary administration of the European firms’ assets has been given to lesser-known Russian companies. Ontex, which has 350 employees in Russia, stated it would consider actions to protect its assets. Tarkett has acknowledged that it is losing effective control of its operations in Russia.
Putin warned of “certain downsides” to seizing Western assets but did not elaborate. He encouraged Russian businesses to seek local financing and cited risks from being overly dependent on global markets, referring to the economic effects of the 2008 financial crisis. The Kremlin also mentioned that these measures could be reversed. Meanwhile, there are reports that the US might seek control of Russian assets that have been frozen in Europe to encourage negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.
With information from Reuters
