Russian legislators have modified laws that will grant President Vladimir Putin increased powers to prevent foreign businesses from reacquiring assets they relinquished when leaving the country, according to Interfax on Wednesday.
These amendments highlight Russia’s strategy to exclude Western companies from critical sectors and strengthen local control over foreign business assets that were left behind after the invasion of Ukraine.
The revised legislation allows Putin to set the terms under which foreign entities may be prohibited from repurchasing their previous companies, as reported by a source familiar with the updates.
Additionally, Russian courts will have the authority to annul existing buyback provisions at the request of current domestic asset holders based on these stipulations.
This legislation is retroactive and applies to transactions made between February 22 and December 31, 2022, refining the original bill’s timeline, which included exits from February 24, 2022, to March 1, 2025.
The new provisions seem to focus primarily on sectors subjected to federal health and epidemiological regulations, including food manufacturers, retailers, and restaurants, particularly those that have not met inspection standards.
The Financial Times previously reported that Putin took a hands-on approach in crafting this legislation following pressure from Russian business owners to impede the return of former Western partners to the marketplace.
The Russian fast-food chain Vkusno i Tochka, which assumed the operations of McDonald’s after its withdrawal, reportedly heavily advocated for this initiative.
After the comprehensive invasion of Ukraine, many foreign companies secured exit agreements that included buyback clauses, allowing them the option to reclaim their businesses later.
Companies like McDonald’s and Renault were said to have negotiated such terms.
In May, Putin publicly instructed executives from Vkusno i Tochka that he had mandated the government to devise a method to nullify these buyback contracts.
According to the Russian analytics firm AK&M, foreign companies completed 109 exits totaling $16.3 billion in 2022. That figure decreased to $11.1 billion in 2023 and further dropped to $3.4 billion in 2024, with nine foreign exits amounting to $420 million recorded in the first quarter of 2025.
