{"id":853165,"date":"2026-09-19T11:06:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-19T11:06:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/853165\/"},"modified":"2026-09-19T11:06:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-19T11:06:12","slug":"russia-expands-seizure-of-western-companies-assets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/853165\/","title":{"rendered":"Russia Expands Seizure of Western Companies\u2019 Assets"},"content":{"rendered":"

Russian President Vladimir Putin has expanded <\/a>\u00a0Moscow\u2019s seizure campaign<\/a> against Western companies, taking control of the Russian operations of Nestl\u00e9, Auchan, Lemana Pro and FM Logistic.<\/p>\n

The seized businesses were transferred to L.E.V. Management, a little-known Russian company that Novaya Gazeta Europe reported was created only in late 2025 and is headed by a Russian Interior Ministry general.<\/p>\n

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In a short statement, Nestle said it was \u201ccommitted to taking all necessary steps to protect its rights and ensure continuity of business operations in the interests of all stakeholders, particularly its employees\u201d, AFP reported.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe company is assessing the situation and its options,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n

Nestle has six factories and Russia and employs around 7,000 people, mainly for coffee, pet care, infant nutrition and confectionary products, a spokesperson said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Kremlin made clear why they were targeted.<\/p>\n

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described them as companies from \u201cunfriendly countries,\u201d linking the move to European sanctions and support for Ukraine.<\/p>\n

Moscow calls the arrangement \u201ctemporary administration.\u201d Previous cases suggest it can be the first step toward Western owners permanently losing control of their businesses.<\/p>\n

From Danone and Carlsberg to Nestl\u00e9 <\/p>\n

Russia introduced the mechanism in 2023, after Western countries imposed sweeping sanctions over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n

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\"\u2018We<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Other Topics of Interest<\/p>\n

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The bill targets Russian energy revenues and major buyers including China, as Shaheen also urges more interceptors and Starlink support for Ukraine.<\/p>\n

Danone, Carlsberg and Finnish energy company Fortum were among its earlier targets.<\/p>\n

Danone\u2019s Russian business was placed under the management of Yakub Zakriev, a nephew of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, before the French company eventually exited.<\/p>\n

The pattern has given Russian authorities enormous leverage over Western companies: stay and risk seizure, or leave under Kremlin-imposed conditions.<\/p>\n

Foreign firms have been forced to sell assets at deep discounts, while Russian authorities have repeatedly tightened exit requirements. Western companies had already accumulated more than $107 billion in write-downs and lost revenue by March 2024, according to a Reuters analysis.<\/p>\n

Nestl\u00e9 may now face a write-off of around 1 billion Swiss francs, or $1.2 billion, analysts cited by AFP estimated.<\/p>\n

A wartime asset grab <\/p>\n

The seizures are part of a much broader expansion of state control since Russia invaded Ukraine.<\/p>\n

Around $50 billion in assets were confiscated<\/a> between 2022 and 2025 as Moscow shifted toward what researchers described as a \u201cfortress Russia\u201d economic model. The campaign has affected foreign and Russian-owned businesses alike.<\/p>\n

For the Kremlin, the immediate gain is control over valuable assets. But the seizures also warn investors that ownership in Russia can be overridden by presidential decree \u2013 a risk that could outlast sanctions.<\/p>\n

Why it could backfire <\/p>\n

More than 1,000 foreign companies have already left<\/a> Russia since the full-scale invasion, selling, abandoning or transferring their businesses.<\/p>\n

Even before the latest seizures, Moscow\u2019s \u201ctemporary management\u201d system was complicating prospects for Western companies ever returning.<\/p>\n

Foreign investment brings more than money. Western companies supplied Russia with technology, industrial equipment, management expertise and access to global supply chains \u2013 areas increasingly constrained by sanctions imposed because of the war against Ukraine.<\/p>\n

Each new seizure therefore deepens a problem Moscow may struggle to reverse: investor confidence.<\/p>\n

Russia can replace some Western brands with domestic or Chinese alternatives. Rebuilding trust in property rights is harder.<\/p>\n

The legal fight can last decades<\/p>\n

Taking an asset inside Russia also does not guarantee that the dispute ends there.<\/p>\n

Companies can pursue compensation through international arbitration and foreign courts where jurisdiction allows.<\/p>\n

Russia already knows how long such cases can last.<\/p>\n

The lesson for companies watching Nestl\u00e9, Danone, Carlsberg and Fortum is difficult to ignore: an investment in Russia can become hostage to the Kremlin\u2019s confrontation with the West.<\/p>\n

Moscow may gain factories and stores today.<\/p>\n

By weaponizing Western assets against Ukraine\u2019s allies, Russia has poisoned its business climate for long after the war ends.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Russian President Vladimir Putin has expanded \u00a0Moscow\u2019s seizure campaign against Western companies, taking control of the Russian operations…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":853166,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[28],"class_list":["post-853165","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/853165","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=853165"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/853165\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/853166"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=853165"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=853165"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=853165"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}