Putin signs decree to remove Russian stocks from overseas exchanges in huge blow to the nation's billionaires

• Putin signed a new decree on April 16 that requires Russian companies to remove their listings from overseas exchanges.
• Now, billionaires won't be able to collect foreign-currency dividends from depository receipt programs.

In a blow to Russia's richest business people, President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on April 16 that requires Russian companies to remove their listings from overseas stock exchanges.

The likes of Vladimir Potanin — Russia's richest man — will now have to adjust the ownership structure of their businesses, Bloomberg reported.

That means Russian billionaires who own the companies listed abroad won't be able to collect foreign-currency dividends from the depository receipts.

Trading of depositary receipts on foreign exchanges also must cease within days, though the New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq, London Stock Exchange and other top international bourses had already frozen Russian stocks after Putin launched his war on Ukraine in February.

In addition, the decree that Putin signed means foreign holders of the canceled receipts must receive normal shares placed in non-resident accounts in Russia.

The ban on overseas listings is the latest blow to Russian billionaires, who have already been targeted by Western sanctions as well as Moscow's own capital controls that restrict the ability to move money abroad.

"The rights of shareholders who believe in Russia and have invested in the Russian market for many years and who cannot hold Russian shares directly, are being hurt," a tycoon told Russian news outlet Kommersant this month. "They have nothing to do with politics, and there is a risk that their property rights will simply be lost."

Meanwhile, the UK's tax authority, HM Revenue and Customs, announced Tuesday that it would revoke the Moscow Stock Exchange's recognized status, piling on to the unprecedented sanctions the British government has placed upon Russia.