Putin allowed UniCredit to reorganize UniCredit Bank and sell 100% of its shares

The order allows a new company to be spun off from UniCredit Bank, and its shares will go to the sole shareholder — UniCredit. The same document authorizes transactions to buy 100% of the bank’s shares.

No additional approvals for the sale of Russian assets are now required, the order says. UniCredit had previously described this asset-splitting scheme itself and reported a preliminary agreement with a private investor from the United Arab Emirates, without disclosing his name.

UniCredit is one of the two remaining Western banks in Russia that are included in the list of systemically important credit institutions; the other is Raiffeisenbank. Since 2022, transactions to sell the assets of such banks have been impossible without the president’s approval.

After the start of Russia’s war against Ukraine, UniCredit planned to sell its Russian business. Media also reported that a consortium from the UAE was interested in buying the bank; according to Kommersant, it acted in the interests of Alfa Group.

Sources

• Material: meduza.io