Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree placing the Russian operations of Nestle and Auchan under temporary external administration, handing control to a little-known Moscow firm. The Kremlin cast the move as retaliation against Switzerland and France over their military support for Ukraine, extending a seizure campaign that has already swept up more than $50 billion in foreign assets since 2022.
Putin signed the decree on September 17, transferring control of the two companies' Russian units to AO L.E.V. Management, a firm registered in Moscow. The Kremlin framed the move as retaliation against "unfriendly" European nations that have provided military support to Ukraine. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov pointed to military aid flowing from Switzerland and France to Kyiv as justification.
What got seized, and how big is the hit
Nestle's Russian footprint is substantial: the Swiss food giant operates six factories in the country and employs roughly 7,000 people. In 2021, Russian sales generated approximately 2 billion Swiss francs, or about $2.4 billion, around 2% of the company's total revenue.
Auchan's exposure is larger by headcount. The French retailer runs approximately 230 stores across Russia and employs around 30,000 people. In the first half of 2026 alone, its Russian operations produced about 127 billion rubles, roughly $1.5 billion in revenue. The decree also sweeps in related entities including FM Logistic and Lemana Pro, the company formerly known as Leroy Merlin Russia. Nestle shares dropped approximately 2% on the Zurich stock exchange following the announcement.
A familiar playbook
Russia ran the same play in 2023, when it seized operations belonging to Danone and Carlsberg. In both cases the "temporary administration" label proved a polite fiction, and the assets were eventually sold to Russian buyers at steep discounts. AO L.E.V. Management itself was established in 2024 and is reportedly led by a general from the Russian Interior Ministry.
Nestle and Auchan had already scaled back their Russian operations since 2022, but unlike IKEA and McDonald's, which made clean exits early in the conflict, the two firms chose to maintain a reduced presence. For companies still weighing their options, the Danone and Carlsberg precedent is instructive: both eventually saw their Russian operations sold to local entities, with the original owners given little say in the terms.
Source: Crypto Briefing
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