FAS is improving the rules on approving transactions by foreign investors

The Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Medvedev, signed a Government Decree on amendments to the rules for pre-approval of transactions concluded foreign investors with regard to strategic economic entities, drafted by FAS with active involvement of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation.

Under the amendments, the Ministry of Defence will send opinions to FAS on threats (absence of threats) to national defence when foreign investors conclude transactions with regard to economic entities operating in the fields of aviation security, port services and natural monopolies in oil and gas transportation via pipelines, railway transportation, services in transport terminals and airports, use of  inland water-ways infrastructure, icebreaker assistance, radioactive waste storage and water supply.

“Up till now we have not received opinions from the Ministry of Defence on the transactions concluded by foreign investors for buying airports, although many airports have the dual-purpose status. FAS and our colleagues from the Ministry of Defence believe that it could have caused certain problems in the national defence. The same story is with ports. Adopting the Decree will sort out the issue”, clarified Deputy Head of FAS, Andrey Tsyganov.

Head of FAS Department for Control over Foreign Investments, Andrey Yunak is confident that the novelty will not have any adverse consequences for the petitioners. He added that “for foreign investors the procedure remains the same; neither the time period for petition consideration, nor the package of documents are changed. The Decree is not an additional burden or overloading upon foreign investors. Rather it enables to account for the interests of the latter without adverse consequences for the defence capacity and security of the Russian Federation”.