Russia seizes US$50b in assets as economy shifts during Ukraine war, research shows

Russian authorities have confiscated assets worth some US$50 billion over the past three years, underscoring the scale of the transformation into a “fortress Russia” economic model during the war in Ukraine, research showed on Wednesday.

The conflict has been accompanied by a significant transfer of assets as many Western companies fled the Russian market, others’ assets were expropriated and the assets of some major Russian businesses were seized by the state.

In response to what Russia called illegal actions by the West, President Vladimir Putin signed decrees over the past three years allowing the seizure of Western assets, entangling firms ranging from Germany’s Uniper to Danish brewer Carlsberg.

Besides the Western assets, major domestic companies have changed hands on the basis of different legal mechanisms including the need for strategic resources, corruption claims, alleged privatisation violations, or poor management.

Moscow law firm NSP (Nektorov, Saveliev & Partners) said that the scale of what it called the “nationalisation” amounted to 3.9 billion roubles over three years, and it listed the companies involved.

The research was first reported by Kommersant, one of Russia’s leading newspapers, which said it illustrated a “fortress Russia” economic model.