Foreigners from unfriendly states may perform some transactions with shares of Russian cos without govt approval - decree

MOSCOW. May 4 (Interfax) - Entities connected to unfriendly states will be able to acquire additional shares and stakes in the capital of Russian companies without the permission of the government commission overseeing foreign investments in Russia if ownership following the transaction does not exceed 25%, according to a Russian presidential decree published on Wednesday.

Decree No. 254 "On the temporary arrangement for fulfilling financial obligations to certain foreign creditors in the sphere of corporate relationships" has been published on the official Internet portal for legal information.

Approval from the government commission has been necessary to carry out securities transactions with the participation of entities from unfriendly states since March 1, 2022 in line with presidential decree No. 81.

The new decree makes a number of exceptions to this rule. Other than the aforementioned, the decree allows without the permission of the commission carrying out transactions with additional shares and company obligations if the foreign entity from an unfriendly state is in one group with Russian companies with the mandatory condition that payment is carried out in rubles.