AI Image
Kremlin Seizes Russian Subsidiary of German Retailer Metro
The Moscow Times • • world
Key Points:
- Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an executive order placing the Russian subsidiary of German retailer Metro AG under state "temporary management," transferring its shares to a newly registered firm, Torg Rus, led by Metro Russia's current CEO Johannes Tholey.
- Metro Russia stated it continues to operate normally but did not directly address Putin's order, marking Metro as the latest Western company to have its Russian operations seized under a 2023 law allowing state control of foreign assets.
- This action follows similar Kremlin takeovers of Russian subsidiaries of French supermarket Auchan, Swiss food company Nestlé, and other foreign businesses, justified by Moscow as responses to "hostile actions" from "unfriendly" foreign governments.
- The timing coincides with a recent meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his German counterpart at the UN General Assembly, which Lavrov described as unproductive amid heightened tensions following Germany's accusations of a Russian drone attack and subsequent diplomatic retaliations.
