The Legal 500

Baker & McKenzie - CIS, Limited

Maria Kostenko

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Work +7 495 787 2700
Email:
Baker & McKenzie

Work Department

Tax Practice Group.

Position

Maria Kostenko is a partner of Baker & McKenzie Moscow office. She specializes in tax planning and tax restructuring, tax advice for M&A, tax due diligence, transfer pricing and tax controversies for both domestic and multinational companies investing into Russia.

Career

Prior to joining Baker & McKenzie, Ms. Kostenko worked as a Tax Consultant at a Big 4 audit firm and then as a Deputy Director of the Law Department in one of the Moscow Tax Inspectorates for Major Taxpayers.

Languages

In addition to her native Russian, Ms. Kostenko speaks fluent English and German.

Education

Ms. Kostenko graduated from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) in 1997 and received her PhD in Russian Tax Law at the Institute of State and Law at the Russian Academy of Sciences in 2002. She was admitted to practice law in Russia in 1997. In 2009 Ms. Kostenko earned her LL.M. in International Taxation from New York University School of Law.

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Legal Developments by:
Baker & McKenzie

  • The New Turkish Code of Obligations: Important Changes for Leases of Residential & Business Premises

    For decades, the primary Turkish laws governing leases of residential and business premises have been the Law on Leasing Real Property dated May 27, 1955 (the “Lease Law”) and the Turkish Code of Obligations No. 818 dated April 22, 1926 (the “Obligations Code”). Both of these laws, however, will be repealed and replaced with the new Turkish Code of Obligations No. 6098 dated January 11, 2011 (the “New Obligations Code”), which will enter into force on July 7, 2012.
    - Esin Attorney Partnership

Legal Developments in Russia

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  • M&A Trends in Russia

    Choosing Russian law as governing law for M&A transaction as a trend in M&A activity has recently been discussed widely in the context of the state’s proclaimed policy to this effect.  This trend could be set in motion in the context of the government’s de-offshorization policy in conjunction with plans to privatize state-owned assets.  The prospective privatization plan includes quite a long list of major companies which will be sold entirely or where the state intends to reduce its stake.The privatization methods will be set individually for each of the companies.
  • CHANGES IN REQUIREMENTS FOR CONSTRUCTING PUBLIC SWITCHED TELEPHONE NETWORKS (PSTN)

    On 5 February 2013 Order No. 284 of the Russian Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications dated 6 December 2012 (the “Order”) entered into force. This has significantly changed the requirements for constructing PSTN.
  • National public order. Adoption of the Draft

    The Presidium of the Supreme Commercial Court of the Russian Federation (hereinafter - SCC RF) adopted by the Informative Letter No. 156 dated the 26th of February, 2013 (hereinafter - the Informative Letter) on Review of the consideration by arbitrazh courts of the cases on the implementation of the public order clause as the ground for rejection of the recognition and enforcement of the foreign court decisions and arbitral awards.
  • Top HR Trends: Regulation and Enforcement Practice

    During 2012 there were a number of changes in the sphere of HR from the employment law standpoint. Among the upheaval, some key trends became evident in HR-related regulation and law-enforcement practice. First thing that we would note is the rising attention to detail among employers. In previous years companies devoted much time to massive restructuring and downsizing projects, meaning that they had little time for current issues. Now businesses are spending more time on bringing their internal policies and HR paperwork into line with the laws and best practice. In this way, they avoid problems with their employees rather than closing the stable door after the horse has bolted.
  • SOCHI AN EXAMPLE OF HOW RUSSIA’S DECADE OF SPORT CAN TRANSFORM SPORTS FACILITIES

    This year marks the start of a five-year period in which the eyes of the sporting world will be on Russia. In the summer of 2013, Kazan will host the Universiade, or World University Games, while the World Athletics Championship will take place in Moscow. In 2014, the Winter Olympics come to Sochi, and a year later some of Kazan’s new facilities will be put to use again when the city stages the World Aquatics Championships. Next up is the World Ice Hockey Championships, in St Petersburg and Moscow, in 2016, before soccer’s World Cup puts on its month-long show all across the European part of the country in 2018.
  • CONSEQUENCES OF UNAUTHORISED ACCESS TO SERVICES USING ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS

    Facts of the case
  • FEDERAL LAW “ON THE CONTRACT SYSTEM IN THE SPHERE OF PURCHASES FOR...

    FEDERAL LAW “ON THE CONTRACT SYSTEM IN THE SPHERE OF PURCHASES OF PRODUCTS, WORK OR SERVICES FOR STATE AND MUNICIPAL NEEDS”
  • IMPORTANT AMENDMENTS IN CONTROL OVER TRANSFER PRICING

    Amending the deadline for notifications to be filed and audits to be conducted
  • PUBLIC POLICY AS A GROUND FOR REFUSING TO RECOGNISE AND ENFORCE FOREIGN COURT JUDGMENTS

    Statutory Regulation
  • OUTSOURCING IN RUSSIA: ADVANTAGES AND RISKS

    The word outsourcing has become a staple of Russian business language, but is still not encountered in Russian law. Generally, outsourcing contrasts with the leasing of personnel in that outsourcing involves certain business processes being contracted out to an external service provider. Outsourcing is typically used to transfer processes that are vital for the company’s activity but are of an auxiliary nature to its core activities: for example, IT, HR processes and payroll.