Our lawyers have extensive knowledge of different spheres of Russian law. We are analysing legal developments on a daily basis. Indeed, the current political situation has significantly changed the legal framework in Russia. For instance, Russia will cease to be a party to the European Convention on Human Rights on September 16, 2022. The Russian primary and secondary legislation have been amended by a huge number of new provisions and rules significantly changing the regulatory environment. The definition of “unfriendly states” was introduced and actively used in newly-passed instruments. Sometimes the legal regime in relation to persons having some ties with these states differs from the regime applicable to other persons.

The aim of this publication is to concentrate on those changes which seem to us to be the most significant from a business perspective. Amongst them are mandatory delisting of certain securities issued by Russian companies from foreign stock exchanges, a legitimate way to use some foreign intellectual property within Russia free of charge, restrictions of money transfers abroad, and external management of legal entities left in Russia by some foreign investors.

Apart from that, we cover topics which may be of interest to investors in Russian market or other persons having connections with our jurisdiction. In particular, staff redundancy, insolvency matters and tax implications of exit strategies.

In addition, we briefly cover measures which likely will be actively used in Russia: relocation of foreign businesses to internal Russian offshore zones (so called “Special Administrative Regions”), bankruptcy moratorium, etc.

We understand that this material cannot be exhaustive and will be outdated in a short space of time. At the same time, we believe that it is important to familiarise English-speaking readers with the state of Russian regulatory framework as of May 18, 2022 being the latest possible date for such purposes.

You can read the material by following the link.