President Vladimir Putin sign a decree on Monday which places Russia subsidiary of German retailer Metro AG under “temporary management” of the State.
The order hands over Metro Russia’s shares to Torg Rus, a management company that company records show that it was registered earlier this month. The current CEO of Metro Russia, Johannes Tholey, is also listed as CEO of Torg Rus.
In a statement, Metro’s Russian subsidiary said it was continuing to operate normally, but did not comment directly on Putin’s order.
Metro, one of the world’s fourth-largest retailers, is the latest Western company to have its Russian operations seized since Putin signed an order in 2023 granting the state the power to place foreign assets under its temporary management.
Earlier this month, the Kremlin took control of the Russian subsidiaries of French supermarket chain Auchan, Swiss food giant Nestlé, home improvement retailer Lemana PRO (formerly Leroy Merlin) and two French logistics companies.
Moscow has described the asset seizures as a response to “hostile actions” taken by “hostile” foreign governments.
The move against Metro Russia comes after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met his German counterpart for the first time since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The two diplomats met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Lavrov then complained that he had learned nothing new from his meeting with the German foreign minister.
Just a few weeks ago, Germany accused Russia of being behind an attempted drone attack at Leipzig/Halle airport and retaliated by closing a Russian consulate and the Russian cultural center in Berlin. Moscow has denied the allegations, which it considers to be fabricated.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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