In brief
On a Friday in Moscow, President Vladimir Putin signed a decree temporarily seizing all shares of three Japan Tobacco units, after recently ordering the seizure of the company’s four units in Russia. The action places those assets under temporary Russian corporate management and adds to mounting tensions between Moscow and foreign investors.
On a Friday in Moscow, President Vladimir Putin signed a decree to temporarily seize further assets of Japan Tobacco Inc. in Russia. The new order extends a previous decree that had targeted the company’s four units operating in the country.
The presidential decree, published on Friday, placed all shares in three Japan Tobacco units under the temporary management of a Russian company. This follows the day‑earlier decree that seized the assets of the Japanese firm’s four units in Russia, a move that the Kremlin said was part of a broader policy of protecting Russian economic interests.
According to Kyodo News, the new decree brings additional shares of the Japanese company under Russian control. The Standard, reporting on the same day, noted that the seizure is the latest foreign asset taken by Moscow, adding to a growing list of similar actions.
Japan Tobacco’s Russian business has long been a target of scrutiny in the wake of sanctions and geopolitical tensions. The temporary seizure effectively places the company’s Russian assets under Russian corporate governance for an unspecified period.
