Russia Forces Departing Firms To Pay 10% Of Sale Price

Foreign investors from "unfriendly" countries selling assets in Russia will be obliged to donate at least 10% of the sale price to the Russian budget, making life even harder for Western companies leaving Russia over the conflict in Ukraine, Alexander Marrow reported for Reuters.

Photo Insert: Departing firms are already being forced to sell their Russian operations at 50% discounts.

Departing firms are already being forced to sell their Russian operations at 50% discounts, with several selling for a nominal fee and many incurring large write-downs even as some have added buyback clauses that could one day let them return.

The ruling included "an obligation to make a voluntary cash contribution to the federal budget of at least 10% of half of the market value of the relevant assets, as indicated in the asset valuation report."

The new ruling will mean companies no longer have an option – they will be forced to make a direct donation to Russia's state budget.

"It just highlights that companies should be making decisions faster, because it won't be getting any easier in the future," Kyiv School of Economics Chairperson Nataliia Shapoval told Financial Times.

Shapoval reportedly said the move has been "looming" since the summer, Francis Farrell also reported for Kyiv Independent.

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