By Anastasia Lyrchikova, Olga Popova, Gleb Stolyarov and Darya Korsunskaya
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia is quickening the pace of domestic asset seizures this year after courts ruled last week that a leading grain trader, Moscow’s sprawling Domodedovo airport and strategic warehouse assets be handed over to the state.
Foreign companies have grappled with the risk of state seizure ever since Russia sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022, but Moscow, under the auspices of strategic stability and domestic security, has increasingly brought domestic assets too into the crosshairs.
Grains trading house Rodnie Polya, Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport and all 16 warehouses belonging to Russia’s largest warehouse owner Raven Russia were all placed under state management on January 31, court documents showed and sources said.
The General Prosecutor’s office did not respond to Reuters requests for comment on the cases.
Lawyers Reuters spoke to said the number of cases filed on the grounds of foreign ownership would likely increase in strategic sectors of the economy, and agreed that the rules of the game were changing for any businesses with non-Russian links.
“This is a signal to owners with dual citizenship, especially from unfriendly countries,” Artem Zhavoronkov, a partner at Russian law firm Nordic Star, told Reuters. “Either renounce your foreign citizenship or lose your business in Russia.”
The Kremlin typically refers to countries that have imposed sanctions on Russia over its actions in Ukraine as “unfriendly”.
Rodnie Polya controlled 14% of Russia’s grain exports just a year ago, but has steadily had its market share squeezed.
Owner Petr Khodykin this week surrendered his St Kitts and Nevis passport and a residency permit for the United Arab Emirates in a last-ditch attempt to cling on to his business, a source close to the company told Reuters.
The move may not have worked. Rodnie Polya’s assets were handed to Rosimushchestvo, Russia’s federal property management agency, on February 5, Russian tax filings show.
Rodnie Polya said its lawyers were considering various methods of defence, including appealing to the constitutional court.
“Petr Khodykin is looking for a fair trial for a Russian citizen and is trying to draw the authorities’ attention to the fact that his story is completely different from cases when the General Prosecutor is indeed defending the interests of the state and its security,” Rodnie Polya said.
WIDESPREAD ASSET SEIZURE
More than 1 trillion roubles’ ($10.34 billion) worth of strategic enterprises and assets, seen as critical for developing Russia’s economy and defence capabilities, were transferred to state ownership by Russian courts in 2023, Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov said in March 2024.
