Forbes India – Battling Sanctions, Moscow Threatens Western Companies With Arrests, Seizures

Women walk in front of a McDonald’s restaurant in central Moscow on March 9, 2022. McDonald’s, Coca-Cola and Starbucks on March 8, 2022 bowed to public pressure and suspended their operations in Russia, joining the international corporate chorus of outrage over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Several of these companies, symbols of American cultural influence in the world, have been the subject of boycott calls on social media as investors have also begun to ask questions about their presence. (Credit: AFP)​

New York, United States: Russian authorities, facing potential economic calamity as Western sanctions take hold, have threatened foreign companies hoping to withdraw from the country with arrests and asset seizures, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.

Russian prosecutors have issued warnings to several foreign entities — via calls, letters and in-person visits — including to Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Procter & Gamble, IBM and Yum Brands, the parent company of KFC and Pizza Hut, according to the business daily, citing sources familiar with the matter.

“The warnings have prompted at least one of the targeted companies to limit communications between its Russian business and the rest of the company, out of concern that emails or text messages among colleagues may be intercepted, some of the people (familiar with the matter) said,” according to the Wall Street Journal.

Russian authorities have boosted efforts to prevent money from leaving its borders and to support the ruble, which has already seen a precipitous drop in value against the dollar.

The prosecutor’s office on Friday meanwhile ordered “strict control” of companies that had announced a suspension of their activities in Russia, warning especially of increased monitoring of labor legislation compliance, under penalty of prosecution.

© Agence France-Presse