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President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree placing under temporary management the Russian assets of French retailer Auchan, Swiss food producer Nestlé, French logistics operator FM Logistic and French retail chain Leroy Merlin (which has operated in Russia since 2024 under the Lemana PRO brand, run by local management independently of foreign owners). JSC L.E.V. Management, a little-known company registered in Moscow in October 2024, is appointed as the temporary administrator for all Russian legal entities of these companies.

The precise reasons for the decision are not yet known. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the decision to place the companies under temporary management took account of the fact that they came from "unfriendly" countries "most actively involved" in military action against Russia and in Ukrainian strikes on Russia's civilian economic infrastructure.

Auchan Retail Russia, FM Logistics and Lemana PRO said they had sent inquiries to state authorities seeking clarification about the transfer to temporary management. Nestlé said it was assessing the situation and would take all necessary steps to protect its rights.

In August, the newspaper Kommersant reported that KS Logistika LLC had petitioned the Russian president to consider introducing temporary management at Nestlé's local assets. According to a source familiar with the matter, the Swiss company does not want to expand capacity in Russia and has stopped exporting goods produced there.

Swiss authorities are concerned about Moscow's decision to place Nestlé's assets under temporary management, Bloomberg reported, citing Switzerland's State Secretariat for Economic Affairs.

Formally, temporary management does not imply an expropriation of an asset. In practice, however, the procedure is often followed — through nationalization (as with Rolf) or sale — by the business eventually passing to a Russian investor. Polish metal packaging manufacturer Canpack, for instance, recently sold its Russian assets to Dom Pak, a company owned by Vadim Smagin (who also owns the Altai-based beer producer Bochkari), after more than six months under temporary management. There is, however, a precedent running the other way: the case of Ariston, whose Russian assets, having passed through temporary management, were returned to their foreign owner.