Belarus restricts payment of dividends, profit to investors from "unfriendly" countries

MINSK. April 23 (Interfax) - The Belarusian government has imposed restrictions on payment of dividends and profit to owners of equity stakes in Belarusian companies from "unfriendly" countries until the end of 2025.

The government published a resolution on the national legal website Tuesday to restrict "payment of distributed and accrued profit and dividends to foreign participants, owners of the property of Belarusian legal entities who are persons from countries carrying out unfriendly actions against the Republic of Belarus, its citizens and organizations."

The resolution designates the following countries as unfriendly: Australia, members of the European Union, Canada, Liechtenstein, Norway, New Zealand, Albania, Iceland, North Macedonia, the United Kingdom, the United States, Montenegro and Switzerland.

The resolution specifies that the restriction is applied if the amount paid out to all foreign shareholders of a resident Belarusian company in a calendar year exceeds 80,000 basic units, which is the equivalent of $985,000 at the current rate.

However, the document also states that payment of dividends and profit to foreign investors is possible with the permission of local government agencies. In order to receive permission, investors must ensure that the resident company does not have any overdue debt on loans, taxes and fees, and wages to employees.

These measures have been adopted to "ensure the protection of the national interests of the Republic of Belarus in connection with the imposition of restrictions by foreign nations carrying out unfriendly actions against the Republic of Belarus, its citizens and/or organizations," the document states.