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Sale of shares in the financial sector subject to approval

Sale of shares in the financial sector subject to approval

Shareholders from “unfriendly countries” will from now on be able to carry out transactions with shares and stocks of Russian banks and financial organizations only after obtaining the respective approval from the Government Commission on Control of Foreign Investments. This is provided for by the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 737 of October 15th, 2022 “On Certain Issues of Conducting Certain Transactions (Operations)”, which came into force on October 15th. The unfriendly countries include practically all states of the “Western bloc”.

According to the Decree, transactions that directly or indirectly result in obtaining, changing or termination of the right to own, use or manage more than 1% of shares or interests in a Russian credit organization, insurance company, non-state pension fund, microfinance organization, management company, share-based investment fund, mutual fund or non-state pension fund are subject to approval.

However, the Decree shall not apply to transactions with shares and units forming the charter capital of credit organizations included in the list approved by the President of Russia pursuant to clause 2 of Decree No. 520 dated August 5, 2022 “On Application of Special Economic Measures in the Financial and Fuel-and-Energy Sectors Due to Unfriendly Actions of Certain Foreign States and International Organizations”.

The same applies to transactions with shares and interests in the charter capital of Russian credit institutions belonging to persons not recognized as persons of foreign states committing unfriendly actions pursuant to clause 12 of the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 95 of March 5th, 2022, and persons not recognized as foreign persons affiliated with such foreign countries pursuant to clause 4 of the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 254 “On Temporary Order of Fulfillment of Financial Obligations in the Field of Corporate Relations with Certain Foreign Lenders”.

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18.10.2022

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