News

Russia's Ministry of Economic Development has drawn up draft rules governing the issuance, by the government commission that vets foreign investment, of the opinion and authorisation provided for in recent amendments dealing with the termination of a foreign investor's right to buy back assets in Russia. RBC reported this, citing the ministry's press office.

The amendments to the law on foreign investment, passed in August, allow a Russian owner of a business acquired from a foreign company after 22 February 2022 to refuse such foreign investors the exercise of a buyback option. A claim to terminate the right to exercise the option may be brought before the Moscow Region Arbitration Court, a state commercial court, once the applicant has obtained the position of the federal authority responsible for the relevant sector of the economy, together with an opinion from the government commission that vets foreign investment. 

Such a claim may also be brought by the responsible federal authority, but to do so it must obtain the commission's authorisation.

A Russian owner's application for the commission's opinion is to be filed with the federal authority responsible for regulating the sector concerned, according to the economy ministry's draft. The application must be accompanied by, among other things, information and documents showing that the foreign investor meets the criteria for being refused the exercise of the option, which are set out in Article 20.1 of the law on foreign investment. The federal authority will then pass the application on to the Ministry of Finance. For the purposes of new Article 20.1, the opinion and authorisation will take the form of the corresponding opinion and authorisation of the subcommission — set up in 2022 to authorise transactions by non-residents — as formalised by the finance ministry.