Putin Hands Nestle and Auchan's Russian Assets to a 15,000-Ruble Company

Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Thursday placing the Russian assets of Nestle and Auchan under temporary administration, sweeping two of Europe's largest consumer groups into a mechanism Moscow has used before. The order names a Moscow-registered company with 15,000 rubles in charter capital as the new manager. Analysts valued Nestle's Russian business at up to $2.1 billion in August.

Putin Hands Nestle and Auchan's Russian Assets to a 15,000-Ruble Company

Moscow, Russia — President Vladimir Putin signed a decree placing the Russian assets of Swiss food group Nestle and French supermarket group Auchan under temporary administration, according to the document published Thursday on the country's official legal portal. The decree transfers both companies' Russian holdings to L.E.V. Management, a Moscow-registered entity. The mechanism strips foreign owners of control and grants the administrator the powers of an owner. It has been in effect since April 2023.

What the Decree Actually Covers

The decree was published Thursday on publication.pravo.gov.ru, the state legal information portal. Its scope extends well beyond the two headline names. According to UA.NEWS, citing the decree text, it covers 100% of Auchan LLC and two Russian subsidiaries of Nestle: Nestle Russia and Nestle Kuban. It also names Le Monlid LLC, the entity that owns the Lemana Pro chain, formerly Leroy Merlin.

The same order reaches three companies belonging to the French logistics operator FM Logistic, eight legal entities of Batilogistic, and Enzhe Stroy LLC. Meduza, citing the Legal Information Portal, reported that the decree also placed under temporary management a 0.007% stake held by the French group Adeo in Le Monlid, the Russian legal entity of Leroy Merlin now operating under the Lemana PRO brand. UA.NEWS reported that the decree applies to both ownership stakes in Lemana Pro, 99.99% of which formally transferred to Scenari Holding LP of the United Arab Emirates at the end of 2023.

A Fifteen-Thousand-Ruble Company

The entity now managing the Russian assets of Nestle and Auchan is L.E.V. Management, also given as AO L.E.V. Menedzhment. Meduza reported it was registered in Moscow in October 2024. It is classified as a microenterprise, with authorized charter capital of 15,000 rubles. Its stated business activity is management consulting.

The Bell, relayed by UA.NEWS, reported that L.E.V. Management shows signs of being a shell company. The outlet cited its microenterprise classification and 15,000-ruble charter capital, and noted the entity was previously listed for sale as a legal entity with no revenue and no open bank account. The ownership structure has not been disclosed, according to Meduza.

The Man Listed as Director

The company's general director is listed as Andrei Vyacheslavovich Krayushkin. Novaya Gazeta Europe reported that this general director's full name and date of birth match those of Internal Affairs Ministry Major General Andrei Krayushkin, who served as first deputy head of the migration department from 2016 until at least 2020.

Odessa Journal, citing BBC Russian, independently reported the same match: the company's general director is listed as Andrei Vyacheslavovich Krayushkin, and 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. The outlets report a match of name and, per Novaya Gazeta Europe, date of birth. They do not assert a proven identity of one person.

Four Years of the Same Playbook

The temporary administration mechanism has been in effect since April 2023, according to UA.NEWS. Under a decree signed by Putin in 2023, Moscow has the power to place assets from countries it deems "unfriendly" under temporary administration, Reuters reported. The mechanism has previously been used to take control of the Russian subsidiaries of companies including Danone and Carlsberg.

In 2023, the mechanism was applied to Danone and to the Baltika brewing company owned by Carlsberg Group, with their shares transferred to the temporary management of the Federal Property Management Agency, Rosimushchestvo, according to bne IntelliNews and Odessa Journal. The businesses were initially transferred to Rosimushchestvo before ownership was subsequently transferred to Russian companies, Odessa Journal reported. Danone eventually sold its Russian business in 2024 for around EUR 180 million and recorded a total loss of EUR 1.2 billion. Carlsberg completed its withdrawal at the end of 2024 with a management buy-out worth $320 million. Heineken sold its Russian subsidiary for the symbolic price of EUR 1 and recorded a total loss of EUR 300 million. In 2024, Putin had already transferred the shares of foreign brewing company AB InBev Efes to the temporary management of the Russian group of companies "Vmeste," according to Mezha, citing RFE/RL's Russian Service.

What Nestle Still Has in Russia

Nestle has operated in Russia since the 1990s, according to Bloomberg. The company runs six production sites in the country: in the Kaluga, Vologda, Samara and Vladimir regions and in the Perm and Krasnodar territories, producing coffee, confectionery, baby food and pet food, Reuters reported. Nestle generates around 2% of its group turnover in Russia, a company spokesperson told the AWP news agency.

After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Nestle decided not to cease its operations entirely, arguing that as a food manufacturer it wished to continue supplying the population with basic foodstuffs even in conflict regions. At the time, Nestle faced criticism from Ukraine's President Zelensky, according to Just Food. Bloomberg reported that Nestle scaled back its business after 2022, suspending some brands and halting non-essential imports and exports, advertising and capital investment. Meduza reported that Nestle halted investment, stopped selling some of its brands such as KitKat and Nesquik, and announced that it did not plan to turn a profit in Russia. Nestle has three factories in Ukraine making drinks, prepared dishes and confectionery, according to Just Food, citing Nestle's 2025 annual report.

Auchan Never Left Either

Auchan is a French corporation controlled by the Mulliez family through the Association Familiale Mulliez, according to Odessa Journal, citing BBC Russian. The retailer was among the early wave of major Western retailers to expand into Russia, opening its first store there in 2002, Bloomberg reported. Auchan now operates 230 supermarkets and hypermarkets across Russia, according to its website.

Following the start of Russia's war against Ukraine, Auchan said it did not intend to leave the Russian market, Odessa Journal reported, citing BBC Russian. Decathlon, another Mulliez-backed retail format, halted operations entirely in March 2022 due to supply chain and logistical frictions, according to Archyde.

What Temporary Administration Actually Means

The mechanism strips foreign owners of control over the business and grants the administrator the powers of an owner, according to UA.NEWS. Natalia Popravko, managing partner at "Popravka Biznesa," told Kommersant that temporary administration does not necessarily amount to asset seizure. She noted, however, that some businesses have ultimately been confiscated or sold to Russian investors.

Natalia Strelkova, a senior consultant at Kamenskaya & Partners, told UA.NEWS that the law does not establish a clear procedure for selecting a temporary administrator, so the president may transfer the assets either to Rosimushchestvo, the Federal Property Management Agency, or to another entity. UA.NEWS also noted that formally, temporary administration does not imply the seizure of an asset; in practice, following such a procedure, the business may be transferred to a Russian owner through confiscation or sale.

The Two Billion Dollar Question

The decree follows a request filed a month earlier. On 17 August 2026, the Kommersant newspaper reported that a company called KS Logistika had asked Putin to place Nestle's assets under temporary administration, according to Reuters. Kommersant, quoting a source familiar with the matter, reported that the request covered five Nestle-owned entities in Russia and could, in theory, result in a change of ownership. The five entities named by bne IntelliNews were Nestle Russia, Nestle Kuban, Cereal Partners Rus, TsPB Nestle and Atrium Innovations Rus.

KS Logistika reported revenue of 1.6 million roubles ($18,735) in 2025 and is believed to represent third-party interests, the newspaper reported, without elaborating. Reuters has not been able to independently verify this information. KS Logistika has been described elsewhere by Kommersant as a little-known importer of German power tools. The request was under review by the office of Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Patrushev, with a response expected by the end of the year, UA.NEWS reported on 17 August. KS Logistika justified the request on the grounds that Nestle is not expanding its production capacity in Russia and is no longer exporting goods manufactured in Russia, according to Kommersant. Citing industry analyst Mikhail Burmistrov, Kommersant said Nestle's Russian business could be worth 160 billion to 175 billion roubles ($1.9 billion to $2.1 billion), including 120 billion to 125 billion roubles in assets and brands and 40 billion to 50 billion roubles in undistributed profits.

Why This Reaches Past Moscow

Reports of a possible compulsory administration weighed on Nestle shares in August. The share price fell 1.6% to CHF79.70 ($98.30), making it the weakest blue chip in the Swiss benchmark index, the SMI, according to swissinfo.ch. JPMorgan analysts believed it possible that Nestle's Russian business could be lost; should Nestle be forced to sell and generate little in the way of proceeds, this could reduce earnings per share by around 3-4%. JPMorgan also expected the development to increase pressure on Nestle to withdraw completely from Russia.

More than 1,000 companies have left Russia or scaled back their operations since the Kremlin's war on Ukraine began in 2022, according to the Yale School of Management. Still, many multinational companies, including PepsiCo Inc. and Mondelez International Inc., continue to operate in the country, Bloomberg reported. Other Western consumer goods groups that remain active in Russia include Barry Callebaut, L'Oreal and Beiersdorf, according to swissinfo.ch.

What Comes Next

Several elements remain unestablished. Neither Nestle nor Auchan provided substantive comment on Thursday's decree. Nestle was not able to comment immediately, according to Bloomberg. An Auchan representative did not immediately have a comment, Bloomberg reported. No confirmed change of ownership has been announced. No Kremlin comment on the decree has been issued. No date has been given for when the administrator's powers take effect.

The precedent shows the administrator's powers can convert into a sale: Danone's Russian business went from state administration to a completed sale in under two years, according to Just Food. More than three years into the mechanism, the pattern is established. The outcome is not automatic.

By Jessica Ali, Staff Writer

This article was produced with AI-assisted research and editorial support. Sources: Reuters, Bloomberg, Meduza, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, UA.NEWS, Odessa Journal, SWI swissinfo.ch, Just Food, bne IntelliNews, Kommersant, Novaya Gazeta Europe, The Bell, BBC Russian.