On 5 July 2017, the State Duma of the Russian Federation adopted
a law that substantially amends Federal Law No. 160-FZ "On
Foreign Investments in the Russian Federation" (the
"Foreign Investment Law") and Federal
Law No. 57-FZ "On the Procedure for Making Foreign Investments
in Companies of Strategic Importance for National Defence and State
Security" (the "Strategic Investment
Law").
Under the current Foreign Investment Law, acquisitions of more
than 25% of voting shares in or of other blocking rights with
respect to Russian companies by a foreign investor controlled by a
foreign state(s) or an international organisation(s) are subject to
state control and require a pre-transaction filing. Such filings
must be submitted to the Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service (the
"FAS") which handles them and in certain
cases hands them over to the Government Commission for Monitoring
Foreign Investments.
