Kremlin prepares new measures against foreign business in Russia, EU banks at risk

Escalation of pressure on Western business

The Russian Federation is demonstrating its readiness to continue depriving foreign investors of control over their Russian assets. This month, decisions were already made to transfer the assets of Swiss food conglomerate Nestle, German wholesale chain Metro AG, and French retailer Auchan to temporary management.

According to Reuters, citing sources in the Russian government and commercial structures, these actions are a signal to the European Union. The Kremlin is accusing Brussels of directly interfering in the war in Ukraine.

Moscow's position: asymmetric response

«Настав час для асиметричних заходів. Нехай вони подумають про те, які заходи вживають і які санкції запроваджують» ("It is time for asymmetric measures. Let them think about what measures they are taking and what sanctions they are imposing"), a senior source in the Russian government, who is directly familiar with the details of these decisions, stated.

Representatives of Russian corporations claim that European companies are deliberately slowing down the development of their Russian "subsidiaries," which, in their opinion, harms the Russian economy.

EU banks in the crosshairs

Journalists inquired whether the Russian branches of Italian bank UniCredit and Austrian banking group Raiffeisen could become the next targets. Although no specific confirmation was given, the general rhetoric points to the possibility of further escalation.

Meanwhile, a senior executive of one of the European companies continuing to operate in Russia told Reuters that in the near term, European business expects the status quo to be maintained.

Kremlin and Lavrov's reaction

On 29 September, the Kremlin officially explained the decisions regarding Nestle, Metro, and Auchan by the "increasing level of involvement of these unfriendly countries in direct combat operations" against Russia. At the same time, in Moscow, they emphasised that the measures are "reversible".

«Наразі ми не бачимо жодних підстав для скасування цих рішень. Ми не чуємо жодних розсудливих голосів, які б закликали до діалогу чи до зусиль з виправлення ситуації» ("At present, we see no grounds for cancelling these decisions. We are not hearing any reasonable voices calling for dialogue or efforts to rectify the situation"), Russian leader's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated.

He did not provide specific evidence of European states' participation in military operations. Previously, Russian officials had mentioned weapons supplies, drone production in the EU, as well as the transfer of intelligence data and information about targets.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated on Tuesday: «Якщо ви визнаєте, що ваша зброя використовується проти нас, і ми її збиваємо, називайте це як завгодно, але я не маю жодних сумнівів, що це війна, яку веде проти нас Європа» ("If you acknowledge that your weapons are being used against us, and we are shooting them down, call it whatever you like, but I have no doubt that this is a war being waged against us by Europe").

Context of frozen assets

In addition to pressure on private business, Russia criticises the EU for freezing its sovereign assets in the amount of approximately 210 billion euros. Moscow is also dissatisfied with measures regarding the assets of Russian companies located in Europe and other Western countries.