List and a brief description of new legislative acts in Russia that establish special economic restrictive measures and explain their application. It includes various decrees and regulations issued by the Russian government and other authorities
1. RF Presidential decree #79 of 28.02.2022.
Key provisions:
a) residents involved in foreign economic activities are obligated before 03.03.2022 to sell 80 % of foreign currency transferred to their accounts, and foreign currency received after 28.02.2022 - to sell within 3 business days.
b) residents are prohibited from carrying out foreign exchange transactions in favor of non-residents and remitting foreign currency to foreign bank accounts.
2. RF Presidential decree #81 of 01.03.2022
Key provisions”
a) Transactions with foreign individuals connected with foreign states that are committing unfriendly actions regarding the Russian Federation (para. 5 of this note) or with individuals controlled by such subjects may be conducted after special permission from a governmental commission ( for more details, see para. 6 of this note);
b) Such transactions include the provision of loans and credits in rubles and transactions that result in property rights for securities and immovable property;
c) starting on 02.03.2022 a ban was imposed on exporting foreign currency and /or other monetary instruments exceeding in value 10,000 US dollars at the RF Central Bank’s rate of exchange on the date of export.
3. The Presidential Decree of the Russian Federation No. 95, dated March 5, 2022, includes key provisions such as:
● Obligations of the Russian Federation, its subjects, municipalities, and residents to foreign creditors exceeding 10 million rubles per calendar month (or its equivalent in foreign currency) are considered fulfilled under special conditions outlined in Decree No. 95.
● The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) and the Ministry of Finance of Russia have the authority to determine a different procedure for fulfilling these obligations. Prior to establishing a different procedure, they may issue permissions to fulfill obligations without adhering to the order stipulated in the Decree.
● Persons from foreign states performing unfriendly actions against Russia, as identified in Decree No. 81, do not include those under the control of Russian legal or natural persons, or if the ultimate beneficiary is the Russian Federation, its subjects, Russian legal or natural persons.
4. The Presidential Decree of the Russian Federation No. 100, dated March 8, 2022, includes the following key provisions:
● A ban on importing into and exporting from the territory of the Russian Federation products and (or) raw materials according to lists determined by the Russian Government.
● This ban does not apply to the import and export of products and (or) raw materials by Russian citizens, foreign nationals, and stateless persons for personal use.
5. The Presidential Decree No. 126, dated March 18, 2022
Its key provisions include:
● The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) determines the sizes of transaction amounts within which the following can be conducted:
● Advance payments or advance payments by residents in favor of non-residents under contracts, the list of which is determined by the Board of Directors of the CBR.
● Transfer of funds from accounts opened in Russian credit institutions by non-residents and (or) foreign legal entities to foreign legal entities - non-residents, and other non-residents.
● Transfers (without opening accounts) of funds, including electronic money, by foreign legal entities and non-residents in favor of non-residents and to foreign banks and other financial organizations.
● Acquisition of foreign currency on the domestic market of the Russian Federation by legal entities - non-residents.
6. The Russian Government Order No. 430-r dated 05.03.2022 establishes the following key provision:
● It approves a list of foreign states and territories that are engaged in unfriendly actions against the Russian Federation, Russian legal entities, and individuals.
7. The Russian Government Resolution No. 295 dated 06.03.2022 establishes the following main provisions:
● It approves the rules for issuing government commission permissions for transactions (operations) listed in Presidential Decree No. 81.
● It clarifies key concepts, particularly the terms "resident" and "person under control."
8. The Russian Government Resolution No. 296 dated 06.03.2022 establishes the following main provisions:
● It regulates that systemically important organizations are entitled to apply for state support measures in 2022 due to unfriendly actions by foreign states and the imposition of economic sanctions against the Russian Federation, its citizens, and Russian legal entities.
● It introduces corresponding amendments to the rules for selecting organizations included in the sectoral lists of systemically important organizations of the Russian economy.
9. The Russian Government Resolution No. 301 dated 06.03.2022 includes the following main provisions:
● The resolution specifies that information about suppliers (contractors, executors) may not be posted in the unified information system in the field of state (municipal) procurement if political or economic sanctions have been imposed on the procurement entity by unfriendly foreign states and/or foreign alliances or unions.
10. The Russian Government Resolution No. 302 dated 06.03.2022 establishes the following main provisions:
● The resolution introduces a temporary ban on the export of medical devices from the territory of the Russian Federation that are manufactured in foreign states which have imposed sanctions on Russia. This temporary ban also applies to goods that were under customs procedures before the resolution came into effect.
● The ban does not apply to products exported from Russia for providing international humanitarian aid to foreign states based on decisions of the Russian Government, goods exported as part of international transit transportations, and some other cases.
11. The Russian Government Resolution No. 308 dated 09.03.2022 includes the following main points:
● It provides a deferral of obligations for organizations and individual entrepreneurs (IEs) most affected by sanctions. This deferral applies to obligations arising from granted subsidies, with the fulfillment period ending after 23.02.2022. The deferral period is set for 12 months.
● Amendments to the subsidy agreements are to be made based on a written application submitted to the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation by the organization or individual entrepreneur receiving the subsidy.
12. The Russian Government Resolution No. 336 dated 10.03.2022 establishes:
● A moratorium on planned inspections of entities engaged in business activities for the year 2022.
● The execution of scheduled control measures is permissible for entities categorized as extremely high risk (such as pre-school and primary education, general and complete secondary education, etc.) and in certain areas of supervision. Inspections may also be conducted in exceptional cases, with the agreement of the prosecutorial authorities or by order of the President of the Russian Federation or the Russian Government.
13. The informational letter from the Central Bank of Russia (CBR), dated 05.03.2022, No. IN-019-12/27, outlines the following key provisions:
● There are restrictions for individual residents on transfers without opening a brokerage account, including electronic money transfers, up to a limit of $5,000 USD per month. These transfers can be made abroad to other individual residents, including spouses or close relatives.
● Individual residents with accounts in authorized banks can make international transfers to other residents who are not their spouses or close relatives.
● Residents can also make international transfers from their accounts in authorized banks to non-residents, including those who are spouses or close relatives, as well as money transfers without opening a bank account, including electronic money transfers, to non-residents, also including spouses or close relatives.
14. The explanations from the Central Bank of Russia, dated 06.03.2022, clarify the following:
Regarding Presidential Decree No. 95, creditors who are Russian residents and creditors from countries not participating in sanctions against Russia can receive funds for existing debt obligations of Russian residents. Payments are made in rubles equivalent to the exchange rate at the time of payment. If special permission is granted, payments can be made in the debt's currency. There are no restrictions on the use of rubles received by creditors, including for conversion operations.
Ruble payments for debt obligations to creditors from countries that have imposed sanctions against Russia will be credited to 'C' type accounts opened in Russian and foreign credit institutions.
15. The Central Bank of Russia's clarifications dated 09.01.2022 detail the procedure for cash currency transactions from 09.03.2022 to 09.09.2022:
Russian citizens are limited to withdrawing up to $10,000 USD in cash. Any additional funds can be withdrawn in rubles at the market exchange rate on the day of withdrawal.
During the validity of this temporary order, currency will be issued in USD regardless of the account's currency. Conversion of other currencies into USD will be based on the market rate on the day of issue.
Russian citizens can open new foreign currency accounts and deposits, but withdrawals during the temporary order can only be made in rubles at the market exchange rate on the day of withdrawal.
16. Information from the Central Bank of Russia dated 10.03.2022:
Key Provisions:
a) Russian legal entities and individual entrepreneurs are allowed to withdraw cash in USD, Japanese Yen, British Pounds, and Euros up to a limit of $5,000 USD, solely for covering expenses related to overseas business trips.
b) The issuance of cash in USD, Japanese Yen, British Pounds, and Euros is suspended.
c) Other currencies in cash form can be obtained by residents and non-residents without any restrictions.
17. Clarification from the Central Bank of Russia dated 18 March 2022, No. 2-OR:
Key Provisions:
a) The provisions of Decree No. 79 and Decree No. 81 do not apply to Russian credit organizations replenishing their correspondent accounts opened in foreign banks, nor to settlements resulting from clearing operations conducted with the use of national payment instruments through correspondent accounts opened by Russian credit organizations in foreign banks, as well as those opened by foreign banks in Russian credit organizations.
b) The restrictions set by Decree No. 81 do not apply to transactions (operations) involving:
● Securities stored with a foreign depository, foreign bank, or another financial market organization located outside the Russian Federation, involving (conducting) the recording of rights to securities, their storage outside the Russian Federation;
● Real estate objects (including those under construction) located outside the territory of the Russian Federation;
● Settlements for transactions (operations) with securities or real estate conducted through accounts (deposits) opened by residents in foreign banks and other financial market organizations located outside the territory of the Russian Federation, information about which has been disclosed by residents to the Russian tax authorities.
18. Decision of the Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Russia dated 25.03.2022 (permissions for specific operations):
Key Provisions:
a) Participants in foreign economic activities (FEA) are required to obtain permission from the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) for the mandatory sale of foreign currency within a different time frame than the one prescribed by Decree No. 79;
b) Residents must obtain CBR permission for operations related to the payment of shares, contributions, or stakes in the property (charter or pooled capital, cooperative share fund) of a non-resident legal entity;
c) Residents must obtain CBR permission for operations involving contributions to a non-resident as part of a simple partnership agreement involving capital investments (joint activity agreement);
d) The CBR has established the application form, a list of required documents, and the timeframe and procedure for submitting an application to obtain CBR permission.
