Decree 302 (Russian temporary administration)
Russian decree of April 25, 2023 allowing the state to take over the management of subsidiaries of companies from "unfriendly" countries, with no formal transfer of ownership.
Russian presidential Decree No. 302, signed on April 25, 2023, allows the state to place under temporary administration the Russian assets of companies linked to countries deemed unfriendly, in response to an actual or announced seizure of Russian assets abroad. The foreign shareholder remains owner on paper, but loses management, dividends and the ability to sell. It is a contemporary form of creeping expropriation: no single act takes ownership away, and it is the build-up of measures that deprives the investor of its asset. For the political risk insurer, the whole question is whether the policy covers loss of control or requires transfer of title, and from when the waiting period starts to run. The decree also showed that sanctions invite countermeasures, and that the political risk of an investment now depends on relations between two states as much as on the host country.
The first targets, as early as April 2023, were the Russian subsidiaries of Germany's Uniper and Finland's Fortum. On July 16, 2023, a new decree placed Danone Russia and Baltika, a Carlsberg subsidiary, under temporary administration, shortly after both groups had announced plans to sell.
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