Putin has a secret plan to squeeze Western companies as they leave Russia by seizing their assets at bargain prices, report says

• Putin plans to seize and sell the assets of Western firms in Russia, the FT reported.
• Many companies have left Russia over the war in Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a secret decree allowing the Russian government to buy the assets of Western companies at discount prices then sell them for a profit, The Financial Times reported.

The move comes after many Western nations imposed sanctions on Russia after the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, and a number of Western companies said they'd no longer be doing business there.

Among the companies which shuttered their Russian operations already were big-name brands such as McDonalds and Ikea, Insider reported.

Under the order signed by Putin the Russian government would be given priority for buying up assets of Western companies at rock bottom prices, the FT said citing sources with knowledge of the matter. It would then be able to sell them at a profit.

The report said that even tougher measures allowing for the full nationalization of groups are being discussed.

According to the report, the measures are designed to punish countries that seize Russian assets, and reward those which don't.

In the wake of the Ukraine invasion, Western countries froze an estimated $350 billion in Russian state assets, foreign reserves and oligarch assets, the AFP said.

Western companies that've stayed in Russia have made significant profits there, indirectly helping the Kremlin fund its war. Western companies collectively contributed more than $3.5 billion to the Russian state in 2022, Russian independent outlet Novaya Gazeta reported.

The new measures Putin signed could be interpreted as a way of making it more difficult for firms to leave.

"If a company doesn't fulfill its obligations, then, of course, it goes in the category of naughty companies," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the FT. Peskov said some Western firms have stopped paying salaries or left Russia at a significant loss.

"We say goodbye to those companies. And what we do with their assets after that is our business," he added.

The Russian government has sought to boost its revenue after sanctions imposed over the Ukraine war badly impacted its economy. Earlier in June, the Russian government sought to raise $4 billion by imposing a windfall tax on large Russian companies, Insider reported.