Putin bans owners from unfriendly countries from selling shares in Russian banks until end-2022
MOSCOW. Aug 5 (Interfax) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has banned entities from unfriendly countries from conducting transactions with shares in Russian banks until the end of 2022.
An executive order on the matter was posted on the official Internet portal for legal information.
The government and Central Bank of Russia have 10 days to draw up a list of Russian banks subject to the ban.
The president reserves the right to allow the sale of shares by special decision, according to the decree.
The restrictions on transactions may be extended by the president's decision.
Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseyev said in July that the authorities would not allow the sale of Russian assets by foreign owners in response to measures taken against Russian banks abroad.
Decisions on requests to sell the subsidiaries of foreign banks will be taken individually, and the Russian government commission will consider the attitude toward Russian banks in the countries where the sellers are registered, Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina said.
Several major foreign banks operating in countries that have imposed sanctions against Russia plan to sell their Russian subsidiaries. They include UniCredit, Citigroup and HSBC. Western media reports say the latter has signed an agreement to sell its Russian subsidiary to Expobank, but the deal has not been approved by the government or Central Bank.