Russia Archives - Global Compliance News

In Corporate Compliance

Russia: Introduction of physical presence requirements for foreign tech companies – How to comply with minimum tax exposure?

September 15, 2021 by Arseny Seidov 1 Min Read

On 1 July 2021, Russia adopted a paradigm-shifting law that establishes, among other things, new physical presence requirements for major foreign technology companies doing business in the Russian Internet space. Affected technology companies are required to open either a representative office, a branch, or a subsidiary in Russia. This article provides a brief overview of this radical regulatory development and its Russian tax implications, reviews the compliance alternatives, and suggests means to mitigate the associated tax risks.

In Europe

United Kingdom: OFSI imposes monetary penalty for Russia Sanctions breach

September 1, 2021 by Sunwinder Mann, Sven Bates and Ola McLees 2 Mins Read

On 5 August 2021, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (“OFSI“) imposed a GBP 50,000 penalty on TransferGo Limited (“TransferGo“), a UK FinTech company, for breaching UK sanctions when it issued instructions to make payments to accounts held at the Russian National Commercial Bank (“RNCB“), a designated party.

In Corporate Compliance

Russia: Webinar: Physical Presence Requirements for Foreign Tech Companies in Russia – How to Respond

August 28, 2021 by Lothar Determann, Sergei Voitishkin, Dmitry Marchan, Alexander Monin, Darya Ermolina, Arseny Seidov and Valeria Eystrakh 1 Min Read

On 1 July 2021, President Putin signed one of the most significant bills of 2021 in Russia and in doing so turned Russian IT regulation on its head. The “Landing Law”, which regulates the activity of foreign IT entities in Russia, marks a new trend in the regulation of information technology in Russia.
The main development is that under the new law foreign information technology companies will be required to establish a physical presence in Russia.

In Europe

Russia: Domestic alternative to foreign trusts and foundations

August 2, 2021 by Sergey Krokhalev, Sergei Zhestkov and Artem Toropov 5 Mins Read

From 1 March 2022, Russian business owners will be able to transfer business and personal assets worth at least RUB 100 million to new private foundations established under Russian law. As opposed to inheritance foundations, which have not caught on in Russia, private foundations can be established and tested during the lifetime of their founders.

In AML

Russia: Russia bans payments to illegal gambling and lotteries operators

July 28, 2021 by Maxim Kalinin, Andrey V. Lebedev and Polina Lysanova 4 Mins Read

Starting from 13 July 2021, Russian credit institutions and other payment service providers are prohibited from interacting with illegal gambling and lotteries operators and foreign payment service providers who accept and transfer payments to illegal gambling and lottery operators. The restrictions are adopted by the Amendments to the Gambling Law (“Law”).

Welcome to our Virtual Global Trade Conference, a virtual offering for all our clients and friends worldwide. Baker McKenzie’s international trade compliance lawyers from around the world discussed the major developments impacting international trade. The sessions include trade policy, exports, sanctions, customs, China trade developments and trade developments.

In Environment

Russia: Government adopts its first ever greenhouse gas law – The core of its national climate package

July 27, 2021 by Alexey Frolov, Maxim Kalinin, Ekaterina Gladkikh and Roman Ishmukhametov 3 Mins Read

The law provides for mandatory carbon reporting as well as voluntary climate projects such as carbon offsets trading

In Europe

Switzerland/Russia – Swiss and Russian Customs Services sign MoU

June 21, 2021 by Stuart Seidel 1 Min Read

On 9 June 2021, the Swiss Government announced that the Federal Customs Administration and the Federal Customs Service of the Russian Federation signed a memorandum of understanding on customs cooperation in Moscow on 9 June 2021.

In Antitrust / Competition

Doing Business in Russia 2021

June 18, 2021 by Sergei Voitishkin, Vladimir Dragunov, Edward Bekeschenko, Sergei Zhestkov, Alexander Bychkov, Eugene Arievich, Denis Khabarov, Margarita Divina, Alexey Frolov, Dmitry Lysenko, Alexey Trusov, Paul Melling and Elena Kukushkina 1 Min Read

Every year our lawyers produce Doing Business in Russia, a general guide for companies operating in or considering investment into the Russian Federation. The guide presents an overview of the key aspects of the Russian legal system and regulation of business activities in this country.

In Asia-Pacific

Multijurisdictional: Part III of a Trilogy – Potential defences of the host states

June 17, 2021 by Joachim Delaney, Katia Finkel and Anna Maltseva 8 Mins Read

We are pleased to introduce the third part of our trilogy of brief commentaries on Investment Treaty Protection & Covid-19 driven State Intervention. The present Part III is devoted to the defenses, which the host states may use to respond to the potential investors’ claims against the measures.