End of Global Russian Clients: managing the transition to a world splitted between Russia and the West

How to avoid the expropriation of Russian assets? How to repatriate the sales proceeds outside of Russia?
Clients who wish to retain Russian and Western part of their businesses: practical solutions
Emergence of New Russian clients / clients with Russian nexus, post 2022 and sanctions

What’s next for Global Russians? The split between Russia and the West

• Regulatory, tax and currency update: Russian 2025 tax reform; DTT suspension; Russia blacklisted; AEOTI
• Russians with business interest in Russia and out of Russia will give up their business in Russia or in Europe but will not keep both
• Too many problems faced by Global Russians in Russia: risk of expropriation
• Too many problems faced by Global Russians in Europe: incentives to move all assets to Russia, use local structures for holding and succession planning

Russian clients with residence in EU and assets in Russia: solutions to avoid expropriation of Russian assets

• The concept of ‘Unfriendly Countries’ and limitations for persons connected with the same
• Practical implications for western investors in Russia: ADR/Eurobond conversion, case studies
• Law on Economically Significant Companies
• President’s Decree on External Management
• Litigation filed by Russian Prosecution Service on seizing assets to the Russian State: recent cases
• Corporate Disputes between Russian and Western shareholders in Russian businesses: squeezing out the investors

Selling Russian assets & staying in the West

Practical challenges and solutions for Clients selling their Russian companies / assets; staying in the west

• Ways to sell their companies in Russia / out of Russia: Government commission consent and new ‘exit tax’
• Difficulties to identify / KYC check the buyer; compliance risks of sale to state-owned or connected buyers
• Buyers’ structures: compartment funds, investment companies acting as buyers, checking source of funds
• Repatriation of sales proceeds outside of Russia / to Switzerland; type-C accounts status;
• Staying in the West: challenges to find new service providers, maintain existing structures in the West
• Naturalisation: implications of giving up the Russian nationality; will there be an option to return to Russia?

Selling EU assets & getting back to Russia

Practical challenges and solutions for Clients selling their European companies / assets and getting back to Russia

• Re-domiciliation of existing structures to Russia or to ‘friendly structures’
• Russian domestic structures: personal foundation, collective investment funds
• Challenges related to transfer of funds to Russia: practical issues and case studies; use of crypto?
• Unblocking Euroclear securities: success stories and what the Clients do when the securities are free?
• Clients who wish to retain Russian and Western part of their businesses: practical solutions

Russian clients post 2022: new business models, cover stories, risks

Challenges to understand the New Russian Clients or clients with Russian nexus / connections

• New import and export opportunities, new class of entrepreneurs
• Buyers of western companies and their agents/ intermediaries
• New companies established outside of Russia (ex: Dubai) but linked to Russian companies
• Understand the business models, the risks (notably of sanction circumvention)
• Practical ways to detect the Russian nexus: tricks, hints and tips for compliance officers, not falling in the cover stories, case studies