Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree that provides for the transfer to "temporary management" of the assets of legal entities and individuals from "unfriendly" countries in the event of seizure of Russian assets abroad. The document was published on the official Internet portal of legal information on April 25.
The Federal Agency for State Property Management (Rosimushchestvo) has been appointed interim asset manager.
The document states that 83.73% of the shares of Unipro PJSC, owned by the German energy company Uniper, can go under the “temporary management” of the Federal Property Management Agency. Also in the list of assets that are proposed to be transferred under the management of the Federal Agency for State Property Management is 69.88% of the shares of Fortum PJSC, owned by Fortum Russia BV. This is a joint venture with the participation of a Finnish state energy company. In addition, the document indicates 28.34% of the shares owned by Fortum Holding BV
As clarified later in the Federal Property Management Agency, the temporary management of Fortum and Unipro does not deprive the owners of their assets, the owner will not be able to make management decisions. The interim manager will exercise the powers of the owner of these assets “with the exception of the powers to dispose of property”, as well as conduct an inventory of property under temporary management and ensure its safety. The Federal Property Management Agency believes that such a decision contributes to "preserving the investment climate" in the Russian Federation and reducing the outflow of capital from the country.
Only Putin can stop external control. List of assets for which allowed the introduction of external management, can also be expanded.
In January, Estonia became the first EU country to begin preparations for the seizure of seized Russian assets, Bloomberg reported . According to the agency, the government of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is ready to redirect the arrested Russian assets to help Ukraine, but the legal details have not been determined. One option could be to seize assets from those involved in war crimes, agency sources say.