The Kremlin has drawn up plans to seize and even nationalise foreign companies that withdraw from the country in protest against its invasion of Ukraine.
Russia’s economy ministry has outlined new policies to take temporary control of departing companies where foreign ownership is more than 25pc.
There’s not really even that fag paper between that and the British government’s control of Chelsea, is there?
Don’t wish to sound harsh, but it’s common knowledge that Russia is a corrupt state and it’s all gangster capitalism there, so surely the companies concerned would be expecting this? The very idea of using property rights and Russian legal system in the same sentence had been pretty laughable for decades.
The companies probably did expect it, Henry. What they couldn’t have expected is why the Kremlin would do it, I.e. because the UK government has lost its mind…
Those companies leaving Russia would all have been marginally profitable. Under Putin those companies will all lose money. His mates don’t know how to run complicated businesses.
The profitable ventures will have found internal Russian buyers. Maybe at a discount, but buyers nonetheless.
” It’s ok when we do it…”
So I get it now. Zelensky is an Arsenal thug and he pushed and poked the Russian bear to force Putin to invade and then we’d sanction Abramovic and close down Chelsea, or at least its business model of just buying all the good players. Smart!
PJF = “So I get it now. Zelensky is an Arsenal thug”. Or Hammers, or Spurs or the red scum.
We’ll still let the rag heads and the Chinese stay though and before you start, it isn’t double standards so there.
Don’t wish to sound harsh, but it’s common knowledge that Russia is a corrupt state and it’s all gangster capitalism there, so surely the companies concerned would be expecting this? The very idea of using property rights and Russian legal system in the same sentence had been pretty laughable for decades.
Reminds me of when we set up our office in HK in the late ’90s. The CEO there had been living and working in HK and the region for 25 years. Whenever some western business came along thinking they were going to make a killing in and asking for help his first response was: “Western businesses don’t make money in China. Now, what do you want me to do?”
@BiND Wouldn’t the answer to that be “Show me whose palms need Greasing, and how.” ?
Off the record, of course. Because that thing doesn’t happen in Civilised Business..