Putin signs decree confiscating Auchan and Nestle assets in Russia
Vladimir Putin (photo: Getty Images)
On Thursday, September 17, Russian leader Vladimir Putin signed a decree on the nationalization of Russian assets of Auchan, Nestlé, and the former Leroy Merlin chain, according to the Kremlin-aligned news agency Interfax.
According to the decree, the assets were transferred to the temporary management of the joint-stock company "L.E.V. Management." The structure also received management control over the assets of FM Logistics and Bati Logistics, as well as LLC "Le Monlid" (the former Leroy Merlin chain).
Thus, the Kremlin has effectively legalized the theft of businesses from companies that, despite Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, did not leave the Russian market and continued to fill the budget of the country that started the war.
JSC "L.E.V. Management" was registered only a couple of years ago, in October 2024. The company's CEO is Andrey Krayushkin, but information about the real owners has not been disclosed. Moreover, based on financial reports, the company appears to be a shell structure, as it conducted no active operations in 2025.
What is known about the operation of Western companies in Russia
Nestlé began its operations in Russia in 1994. It owns six production sites located in the Kaluga, Vologda, Samara, and Vladimir regions, as well as in the Perm and Krasnodar territories. The combined revenue of its four main legal entities in 2021 amounted to 29.94 billion rubles. Revenue for subsequent periods is unknown.
In turn, the Auchan retail chain began operating in Russia in 2006 and has 230 stores in 100 cities. Since 2022, the company's Russian division has been operating autonomously, but it has remained in the market.
As for Leroy Merlin, the company entered the Russian market in 2004. Later, the retailer changed its name to "Lemana PRO," and the chain manages 112 stores, 11 dark stores, and six distribution centers. Since December 2023, 99.99% of LLC "Le Monlid" has belonged to a company from the UAE – Scenari Holding LP, while the French group Adeo has retained 0.007%.
What else is known
In January, Bloomberg reported that Russia had confiscated record assets worth trillions of rubles but was unable to sell them to replenish the military budget. For example, the sale of Moscow's Domodedovo Airport failed.
In August, Putin signed a decree on the nationalization of businesses. It concerned the introduction of temporary management at critical infrastructure facilities if their owners failed to protect property from Ukrainian drone attacks.
