Zara store closed in Moscow. /
The Prosecutor’s Office warns that it will “firmly repress” attempts to leave the country and announces “strict control”
The mass departure of Western companies from Russia due to the invasion of Ukraine has angered the Kremlin. So much so that the Russian Prosecutor’s Office ordered this Friday the “strict control” of foreign firms that suspend their activity. The judicial body announced it in a statement in which it assured that it will “firmly repress” any attempt to march and that it will act against companies that “do not respect their obligations.” “The prosecutors are going to establish a strict control of the respect of the labor law, payment of wages and fulfillment of the contractual obligations”, informed the same sources that, in addition, threatened legal actions against the companies that allege a “fictitious or fictitious” bankruptcy. premeditated”.
Since the Russian Army invaded Ukraine on February 24, Western sanctions have hit its financial system, leaving it with one foot in the yard. The frightening of the multinationals completes a pincer that dynamites the country’s economy and returns it to the Soviet era. There are already hundreds of firms that have paralyzed their activity. With the flight of McDonal’s, Pepsi, Ikea, Inditex, the luxury group LVMH, L’oreal, H&M, Starbucks, KPG and PWC alone, 125,400 jobs will be destroyed. Most companies have said that their departure is temporary and that they will continue to pay or support their staff, but if the war situation persists, nothing guarantees it.
On Thursday it was Vladimir Putin himself who referred to the matter without hiding his indignation. In his intervention, he declared himself in favor of the appointment of “external” administrators in the direction of foreign companies that leave the country “to transfer them to those who want to make them work.” «We are not going to close ourselves off to anyone, we are open to working with all our foreign partners who wish to do so. The rights of foreign investors and colleagues who stay in Russia and work in Russia must be reliably protected,” Putin said. Along the same lines, he encouraged his government to “introduce external management and then transfer these companies to those who want to work”, and added: _ “There are enough legal instruments, market instruments”, to be able to carry it out. The Kremlin has also proposed establishing a manager in companies with more than 25% foreign participation that have left the Russian market. In other words, nationalize them. If these companies decide at any time to resume operations or sell their Russian part, they should go to court.
From across the Atlantic, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki used Twitter to respond to Russian threats. “Any illegal decision by Russia to seize the assets of these companies will ultimately result in even more economic pain. It will underscore the clear message to the global business community that Russia is not a safe place to invest and do business.”
Despite everything, this Friday new companies announced the closure of their offices in the country. Among them, the US banks Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan. The cybersecurity firm Avast will also stop selling its products in Belarus and Russia, where it will suspend its activities but will continue to pay its staff.
