Russian government proposes to let Putin control all defense transactions
The Russian government has submitted to the State Duma a bill that expands the powers of the Russian president and introduces mandatory coordination with him of all transactions with shares of defense companies.
A special requirement to obtain the consent of the President will apply to sale transactions, the possibility of sale or transfer to trusts of shares (shares in the authorized capital) of "organizations of strategic importance for the military-industrial complex and security of the Russian Federation", reads the document published on the website of the lower house of the Russian Parliament.
Transactions made without the president's consent will be treated as "void."
According to the bill, “companies directly producing weapons or involved in weapons’ development, the parent organizations of defense holdings, as well as companies that participate in the supply of products under the state defense order or make a significant contribution to ensuring the defense of the country," will fall under presidential control.
The full list of such companies will be determined by the government. State corporations Roscosmos and Rostec are included in a separate article. The latter is prohibited from selling any assets to foreign investors which are deemed strategic.
"The bill does not apply to transactions made with shares of joint-stock companies traded at organized auctions, to transactions between citizens of the Russian Federation, as well as to relations arising from the expropriation of shares of business entities as part of enforcement proceedings, or in the course of procedures applied in a bankruptcy case, or in the order of universal succession (inheritance, reorganization of a legal entity)", reads the explanatory note.