A decree outlining punitive steps in response to the seizure of Russian properties overseas has been signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Federal Agency for State Property supervision has been given temporary external supervision of the assets of two international corporations, German Uniper and Finnish Fortum, according to an order posted on the government portal on Tuesday.
The step was taken “in connection with the necessity to take urgent measures in response to hostile and in violation of international law actions by the US and foreign states and international organizations that joined it (US), aimed at illegally depriving the Russian Federation, Russian individuals and legal entities of their property rights and (or) restricting their property rights,” according to the explanatory note to the decree.
The document states that assets connected to “unfriendly” countries that are located on Russian soil are put under external control in the event that rights to Russian property abroad are taken away or restricted.
In the event that similar actions are taken in connection to Russian property abroad, mobile and immovable property, securities, shares in the capital, as well as property rights, may be temporarily managed by the property management agency.
The local subsidiaries of the Russian energy behemoths Gazprom and Rosneft were placed under external management by the German government last year.
Following suit, Poland implemented outside management for the businesses Gazprom and Novatek.
In addition, the authorities threatened to transfer over $300 billion in Russian financial assets to Ukraine if they were not blocked in US and EU banks.