In a move that blurs the line between administration and appropriation, Vladimir Putin has signed a decree placing 16 Western-linked businesses under the control of an obscure, newly formed Russian firm — a step Moscow frames as a geopolitical response to sanctions, but which history suggests may be a prelude to permanent transfer. The affected companies, including Nestlé, Auchan, FM Logistic, and Lemana Pro, represent tens of thousands of livelihoods suspended in the uncertain space between ownership and state control. This is not the first time Russia has used the instrument of temporary adm
Russia places Western firms' assets under state control via decree
Approximately 7,000 Nestlé employees and 30,000 Auchan employees face operational uncertainty as their employers' Russian assets come under state control.
Temporary administration has repeatedly preceded asset sales to Russian buyers
Mark
So Putin signed a decree putting 16 Western companies under the control of some firm called L.E.V. Management. What exactly does that mean—does Russia now own these businesses?
Mimi
Not formally, no. The decree places management authority in L.E.V.'s hands, but it doesn't transfer ownership. That said, Russia has done this before. With Danone, temporary administration preceded a sale at a steep discount. So it's a mechanism that often leads to de facto control.
Luke
But we should be clear: L.E.V. Management is a shell. Registered in October 2024, no disclosed shareholders, no active business operations in its 2025 accounts. And its director was appointed a week before the decree. That's not a coincidence, but it's also not proof of anything beyond the obvious—this is a state instrument.
Mark
Who gets hurt here? These are real companies with real employees.
Mimi
Nestlé has 7,000 people in Russia. Auchan has 30,000. They're now operating under state administration while their parent companies figure out what to do. The uncertainty alone is destabilizing.
Luke
Though for Nestlé, the financial hit is limited. Russia is only 1 percent of their global sales now, down from 2 percent before the invasion. That doesn't mean the employees aren't affected—it just means the parent company can absorb it.
Mark
Why is Russia doing this now? The invasion was in 2022.
Mimi
Escalation. Most Western companies left or ring-fenced their operations early. The ones still there are the stubborn ones or the ones Russia wouldn't let leave. This is Moscow tightening control as the conflict drags on and sanctions bite.
Luke
And it's explicitly political. Peskov said so—these are unfriendly countries involved in military operations against Russia. This isn't about business; it's about leverage and punishment.
Mark
What happens next?
Mimi
Nestlé is assessing its options. Auchan and Lemana Pro say they're operating normally, but they're also asking for clarification. The pattern suggests some will eventually sell at a discount, like Danone did.
Luke
The honest answer is we don't know. The companies are being cautious in their statements. They're protecting themselves legally while they figure out whether they can negotiate, whether they can wait it out, or whether they need to exit. The decree is a tool, but how it gets used depends on what Moscow wants and what these companies are willing to accept.
Der Puls
- Putin's decree hands management of 16 Western-linked Russian businesses to L.E.V. Management, a Moscow firm registered just eleven months ago with no disclosed shareholders and no recorded business activity.
- The Kremlin has openly tied the decision to geopolitics, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov citing the 'adversary' status of the companies' home countries as direct justification.
- Roughly 37,000 workers — 7,000 at Nestlé and 30,000 at Auchan — now face operational uncertainty as their employers lose day-to-day control without formally losing ownership.
- The move follows a documented playbook: Danone's Russian operations were placed under temporary administration before being sold at a steep discount in 2024, suggesting this is less a pause than a slow-motion transfer.
- Nestlé, Auchan, and Lemana Pro have each issued cautious statements, saying operations continue normally while they seek clarity — a holding pattern that may itself be temporary.
In a move that blurs the line between administration and appropriation, Vladimir Putin has signed a decree placing 16 Western-linked businesses under the control of an obscure, newly formed Russian firm — a step Moscow frames as a geopolitical response to sanctions, but which history suggests may be a prelude to permanent transfer. The affected companies, including Nestlé, Auchan, FM Logistic, and Lemana Pro, represent tens of thousands of livelihoods suspended in the uncertain space between ownership and state control. This is not the first time Russia has used the instrument of temporary administration as a quiet form of expropriation, and the pattern — from Danone to the present — speaks to a deliberate architecture of economic leverage in a prolonged conflict.
On Thursday, President Putin signed a decree transferring temporary management of 16 Russian businesses — linked to Nestlé, Auchan, FM Logistic, and Lemana Pro — to a little-known Moscow firm called L.E.V. Management. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov made no effort to obscure the reasoning: the home countries of these companies, he said, are adversaries actively involved in military operations against Russia.
The decree stops short of formal confiscation. Russian legal experts note that it transfers management authority, not ownership. But the distinction may be largely academic. When Danone's Russian operations were placed under similar temporary administration, they were eventually sold at a steep discount in 2024 — managed first by a nephew of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov before passing to Russian buyers. The trajectory is familiar.
L.E.V. Management, the firm now in control, is difficult to scrutinize. Registered in October 2024, it has no publicly disclosed shareholders and showed no active operations in its 2025 accounts. Its general director was appointed just one week before Putin signed the decree. Independent reporting has linked his name to a Russian interior ministry general, though this has not been confirmed.
Nestlé, which runs six factories and employs around 7,000 people in Russia, said it was assessing its options while remaining committed to its workforce. The financial exposure is limited — Russia now represents roughly 1 percent of Nestlé's global sales, down from 2 percent before the invasion. Auchan, with some 230 stores and 30,000 Russian employees, said it had sought clarification from authorities and that stores were continuing to operate normally. Lemana Pro and FM Logistic offered similarly measured responses.
The broader pattern is unmistakable. Since 2022, Russia has systematically raised the cost of exit for foreign companies — requiring presidential approval for asset sales and using temporary administration as a lever. Those who stayed, or could not leave, now find themselves subject to a state apparatus that has learned to absorb Western assets quietly, one decree at a time.
On Thursday, President Vladimir Putin signed a decree that handed temporary control of 16 Russian businesses to L.E.V. Management, an obscure Moscow-registered firm. The companies affected include operations run by Nestlé, the French retailer Auchan, FM Logistic, and Lemana Pro—which operates stores under the Lemana Pro brand after the rebranding of the former Leroy Merlin chain. The move represents Moscow's latest tightening of its grip over Western-owned assets as tensions with the West persist over sanctions imposed following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov framed the decision explicitly in geopolitical terms at a Friday press conference, stating that the status of these countries as adversaries actively involved in military operations against Russia factored into the decision. The decree does not formally transfer ownership of the businesses, according to Russian legal experts cited by the business newspaper Kommersant. Instead, it places management authority in the hands of the state-controlled administrator. However, this arrangement has a documented history: temporary administration has repeatedly preceded the eventual sale or transfer of Western assets to Russian buyers, as happened with Danone's Russian operations, which were initially placed under the management of Yakub Zakriev, a nephew of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, before being sold at a steep discount in 2024.
L.E.V. Management itself remains largely opaque. The company was registered in Moscow in October 2024, and its shareholders are not publicly disclosed. Its 2025 accounts, reviewed by Kommersant, showed no active business operations. Andrei Krayushkin was appointed as the firm's general director on September 10, just one week before Putin's decree. According to reporting by the independent outlet Novaya Gazeta Europe, Krayushkin's name and date of birth match those of a Russian interior ministry major general, though this connection has not been independently verified.
Nestlé, which employs approximately 7,000 people across six factories in Russia, issued a cautious statement saying it was assessing the situation and its options. The company said it remained committed to protecting its rights and ensuring business continuity for all stakeholders, particularly its workforce. Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Nestlé has suspended most non-essential sales, imports, exports, advertising, and capital investment, while continuing to supply what it deems essential products. The financial exposure, however, appears manageable: Russia now accounts for roughly 1 percent of Nestlé's global sales, down from approximately 2 percent before the war, according to Jean-Philippe Bertschy of Swiss investment bank Vontobel.
Auchan Retail Russia, which operates around 230 stores and an online business in Russia and employs some 30,000 people, told the Russian business outlet RBC that it had requested clarification from authorities and would comment further once it received additional information. The company stated that its stores and facilities continued to operate normally. Lemana Pro similarly told Kommersant that it had not yet received official notification from authorities and was continuing normal operations. The company now operates 112 stores following the 2023 transfer of control from its French parent, Adeo, to local management. FM Logistic had not made a public statement at the time of reporting.
The decree reflects a broader pattern. Since the invasion, Russia has made it increasingly difficult for foreign companies to exit the country, requiring presidential approval for asset sales and placing certain holdings under temporary administration. Most Western firms moved quickly to sell or isolate their Russian operations in 2022, but those that remained or could not leave have found themselves subject to mounting state pressure. The question now is whether the companies under temporary administration will follow the path of Danone—eventually selling their Russian operations at a discount—or whether they will find another way forward.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
One of the factors taken into account when making this decision was that these are unfriendly countries, which are currently most actively involved in military operations against our country.— Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov
Nestlé is committed to taking all necessary steps to protect its rights and ensure continuity of business operations in the interests of all stakeholders, particularly its employees.— Nestlé statement
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