Russia proposes squeezing more budget funds from state asset seizures

Russian President Putin attends meeting of collegium of Prosecutor General's office in Moscow·Reuters

(Reuters) - Russia's government has proposed ordering state companies that acquire assets and property through court decisions to pay 50% of the assets' market value to the federal budget, a note published by the lower house of parliament showed.

More than 1 trillion roubles' ($10.54 billion) worth of strategic enterprises and assets, seen as critical for developing Russia's economy and defence capabilities, were transferred to state ownership by Russian courts last year, Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov said in March.

The draft law, if passed, would come into force in 2025, and the assets would be subject to an independent valuation, the note published on the State Duma's website said.

After winning approval in the Duma, the law would also need to be passed by Russia's upper house of parliament and signed by President Vladimir Putin.

It was not immediately clear whether the government would extend the law's proposed powers to assets seized from foreign hands in the wake of Russia's war in Ukraine, which has seen scores of foreign companies leave the country.

Moscow has placed several foreign assets under "temporary" state ownership, including Finnish utility Fortum and Danish brewer Carlsberg.

Those assets currently remain under the control of Russia's federal property management agency, Rosimushchestvo, but French yoghurt-maker Danone saw its assets seized and a sale to a pro-war Russian businessman forced through.

The RBC daily quoted a lawyer as saying that the law would probably not be applied retrospectively.

($1 = 94.9000 roubles)

(Reporting by Alexander Marrow and Darya Korsunskaya; Editing by Gareth Jones)