Putin allows Italy's UniCredit banking group to reorganize, sell Russian subsidiary
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Russian President Vladimir Putin allowed the Italian banking group UniCredit to reorganize its Russian subsidiary and sell the new unit, according to an official decree published on Oct. 5.
Moscow has barred companies from countries it has labeled as "unfriendly" — including Italy — from selling or transferring their shares in Russian businesses without approval from the authorities.
UniCredit, one of the few European banks still active in Russia, announced in May that it plans to sell most of its Russian subsidiary — UniCredit Bank Russia — to a private investor from the United Arab Emirates, while retaining control over its payments arm.
Putin's approval paves the way for the reorganization and sale, which UniCredit aims to complete by the first half of 2027.
Banks like UniCredit and Austria's Raiffeisen Bank have faced mounting pressure from European capitals to exit the Russian market since the outbreak of Russia's full-scale war in 2022 and the subsequent sanctions.
At the same time, Western companies face the risk of Moscow seizing or confiscating their assets in Russia as a form of pressure against Western governments.
Only last month, Putin signed a decree on the confiscation of the assets of the Swiss food company Nestle and the French supermarket chain Auchan, and the Kremlin seized control over the Russian subsidiary of Germany's wholesale food retailer Metro AG.
