Putin seizes five more European firms, continuing Russia's hostile asset crackdown

The decree targets Tarkett, Kappa Rus, Ontex RU, Eviosys Packaging Kuban, and Menshen Packaging CIS. They operate in flooring, paper packaging, hygiene products, metal packaging, and plastic packaging. All five continued operating in Russia after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Their Russian assets were not simply closed. They were placed under interim control by Centre Capital, a management company registered in February 2026. Its chief executive is Marat Mirkhaydarov, a former regional governor’s administration chief in Zabaykalsky.

The move gives a Russian management structure control over these businesses and their local assets. Tarkett still had two Russian plants, while the other companies maintained operations after the invasion. The seizures expand a pattern that has already affected Carlsberg, Danone, Nestlé, Auchan, Leroy Merlin, and other foreign-linked businesses.

The companies are substantial businesses rather than small local operators. Their combined annual revenue exceeds 50 billion roubles, equivalent to €532 million in the article’s calculation. The figure covers the five businesses named in the decree.

Tarkett provides the clearest example of their scale. Its 2024 annual report ranks it third worldwide by floor-covering sales and says it leads the vinyl-flooring market. The group has 34 production sites worldwide, including two that remained in Russia.

Their size helps explain the economic importance of the seizures. These companies have factories, operating businesses, and established market positions in Russia. The decree transfers control of assets connected to them, while the owners face uncertainty over management, revenue, and possible compensation. The article does not provide separate revenue figures for each company.

In practice, temporary administration means that Russia takes control of selected Russian assets belonging to a foreign company. The businesses may remain operating, but management authority moves to an entity appointed under the presidential mechanism. The article describes the latest assets as being placed under interim control.

For these five companies, that entity is Centre Capital. It was registered in February 2026 and is led by Marat Mirkhaydarov. The decree covers local factories and businesses connected to Tarkett, Kappa Rus, Ontex RU, Eviosys Packaging Kuban, and Menshen Packaging CIS.

The arrangement matters because the foreign owners no longer control those Russian assets in the ordinary way. The article does not say that every business was shut down or that all ownership rights disappeared immediately. It does say Western governments and international legal experts call such moves unlawful expropriation, and that affected companies may pursue compensation.

The five companies continued operating in Russia after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Tarkett also continued paying taxes to the Russian budget and kept two plants there. Their ongoing presence made them part of a wider group of foreign businesses whose Russian assets remained active.

Moscow’s “unfriendly countries” label provides the political framing. Russia applies it to all EU member states, the United States, the United Kingdom, and other countries that imposed sanctions after the invasion. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov directly linked the transfers of Nestlé’s and Auchan’s assets to their origins in such countries.

Russia has presented the seizures partly as retaliation for the European Union freezing about €300 billion in Russian sovereign assets. The article therefore connects the action both to companies’ continued Russian operations and to a broader dispute with governments supporting Ukraine and imposing sanctions.

When Russia takes control, the foreign owner’s authority over the affected Russian factories, businesses, or other assets is displaced by temporary administration. The assets continue under a Russian-appointed management structure rather than remaining under normal foreign corporate control. The article does not state that every brand or factory is permanently confiscated.

In the latest case, Centre Capital received interim control. Earlier, LEV Management took control of Russian assets linked to Nestlé, Metro, Auchan, Leroy Merlin, and Aptar Europe Holding. This shows how the mechanism can move operational control to newly established Russian companies.

The owners retain a possible legal route through international arbitration under investment treaties Russia signed with EU member states. However, a favorable compensation judgment does not guarantee payment. The article says enforcing awards against the Kremlin and its entities is nearly impossible, leaving companies facing major uncertainty over both control and recovery.

The April 2023 presidential decree established a mechanism for imposing temporary administration over certain Russian assets of foreign companies. It turned asset control into a repeatable state process rather than an isolated action. The first targets named under the decree were Danish brewer Carlsberg and French dairy group Danone.

The pattern later expanded. In September, Russia placed assets linked to Nestlé, Metro, Auchan, and Leroy Merlin under temporary administration. Those assets went to LEV Management, a company established shortly before the decision. A plastic dispensing-systems manufacturer owned by Aptar Europe Holding was also placed under temporary administration soon afterward.

The latest decree adds Tarkett and four more European-linked businesses. Together, the cases show continuing pressure on foreign companies that stayed in Russia. They also create a growing set of disputes over ownership, compensation, and enforcement, especially because Western governments and legal experts describe the seizures as unlawful expropriation.

Bilateral investment treaties are agreements between two countries that can protect investors from the other country’s actions. In this case, companies whose Russian assets are seized may rely on treaties Russia signed with EU member states. International arbitration is the process through which an investor can bring a compensation claim before an independent arbitration panel rather than relying only on Russian courts.

The article says affected companies can, in principle, pursue compensation through that route. A company might argue that the seizure unlawfully deprived it of its investment. Western governments and international legal experts have described the seizures as unlawful expropriation.

A legal victory may still produce little practical recovery. The article says enforcing judgments against the Kremlin and its entities is nearly impossible. Sanctions, Russia’s resistance, and the difficulty of reaching Russian assets can make collection extremely difficult, so arbitration offers a possible claim but not a reliable payment.