Putin seizes Russian assets of Auchan, Nestlé and Leroy Merlin

Russian ruler Vladimir Putin has signed a decree placing the Russian assets of Auchan, Nestlé and the chain formerly known in Russia as Leroy Merlin under temporary state administration.

Source: Russian propaganda agency Interfax, citing the text of the decree posted on Russia's official legal information portal

Details: Under the 17 September decree, the assets of international corporations Auchan and Nestlé will be forcibly transferred to the management of the joint-stock company LEV Management. This same entity has also taken control of the assets of logistics operators FM Logistics and Bati Logistics, as well as Le Monlid LLC, the chain formerly known in Russia as Leroy Merlin.

In effect, the Kremlin has carried out a legalised theft of the businesses of international companies that for years have refused to leave the Russian market and continued contributing to the budget of the aggressor state.

According to Russian company registers, LEV Management is a typical shell company. The company was only registered in Moscow in October 2024. Andrei Krayushkin is listed as the company's managing director, but information about its ultimate beneficial owners has not been disclosed, and the company has not conducted any commercial activity.

For reference: Swiss company Nestlé has been operating in Russia since 1994 and owns six large production sites in different parts of the country. The combined revenue of its main Russian legal entities in 2021 amounted to almost 30 billion roubles (about US$355.04 million). The company has withheld its financial data for subsequent years, following the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

French retailer Auchan has operated in Russia since 2002 and currently has 230 stores in 100 cities. Auchan LLC is almost entirely owned by the French company Sogepar.

The French company Leroy Merlin, which had been operating in the Russian market since 2004, also refused to leave the country for a long time. The retailer later changed its name to Lemana Pro and operated a network of 112 stores and 11 fulfilment centres for online orders, known as dark stores. In December 2023, UAE-based Scenari Holding LP acquired a 99.99% stake in the Russian legal entity Le Monlid LLC. The French group Adeo formally retained only 0.007% of the shares.

Background:

• Russian authorities have repeatedly publicly threatened Western countries with the confiscation of their companies' assets, calling it a "reciprocal response" to international sanctions and the freezing of Russian state funds abroad.
• In May 2024, Putin signed a decree allowing US property in Russia to be used to compensate for losses resulting from the seizure of Russian assets.
• In autumn 2025, amid EU decisions to provide loans to Ukraine using proceeds from frozen Russian assets, the Kremlin leader issued a decree that significantly accelerated the procedure for nationalising foreign companies in Russia, reducing the asset valuation period to 10 days. All transactions involving confiscated property were entrusted to Promsvyazbank, which provides banking services to Russia's Defence Ministry.
• Putin himself has previously openly described the use of Russian funds and the detention of commercial vessels linked to Russia as "robbery" and "piracy". He said Russia would be forced to respond in kind to any actions by Western countries by seizing their property.

Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon to help us keep reporting!