Vladimir Putin has signed a series of decrees placing the Russian businesses of Western companies Auchan and Nestlé under the external management of Russian company L.E.V. Management, according to Russian BBC.
Auchan is a French corporation controlled by the Mulliez family through the Association Familiale Mulliez. Following the start of Russia’s war against Ukraine, Auchan said it did not intend to leave the Russian market.
Nestlé is a Swiss multinational corporation and the world’s largest food company.
Through its temporary management mechanism, Russia has taken control of the Russian businesses of numerous international companies, including Carlsberg, one of the world’s largest brewers, which owned the Baltika brewing company, and French company Danone.
The businesses were initially transferred to the temporary management of Russia’s Federal Agency for State Property Management before ownership was subsequently transferred to Russian companies.
L.E.V. Management was registered in Moscow in 2024 and has charter capital of just 15,000 rubles. Its stated business activity is management consulting.
The company’s general director is listed as Andrei Vyacheslavovich Krayushkin. A person with the same full name serves as First Deputy Head of the Main Directorate for Migration Affairs of Russia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs.
