Russia places Nestlé and Auchan operations under state control
Russia has placed the local operations of Swiss food company Nestlé and French retailer Auchan under temporary state administration, transferring control to L.E.V. Management, a Russian firm headed by Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev. Moscow justified the move by designating Switzerland and France as unfriendly countries amid the war in Ukraine and Western sanctions.
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The Russian government has taken temporary control of local operations belonging to Nestlé, the Swiss food giant, and Auchan, the French retailer, according to CNN. Both companies' assets have been transferred to L.E.V. Management, a Russian company run by Vladimir Kolokoltsev, who serves as Russia's Interior Minister. His involvement underscores the direct participation of senior Russian government officials in managing seized Western assets.
Moscow justified this action by citing the companies' origins in countries it has officially designated as unfriendly during the ongoing war in Ukraine and the subsequent sanctions imposed by Western governments. This seizure is part of a broader pattern since 2022, in which the Kremlin has placed numerous foreign-owned businesses under state control or transferred them to Russian entities. The government has often justified these actions by pointing to the departure or reduced operations of Western companies following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Both Nestlé and Auchan had substantial commercial operations in Russia before the conflict, and this move is likely to further strain relations between Moscow and Western governments while raising concerns for other multinational firms that continue limited operations in the country.
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