Putin transfers Tarkett and Ontex assets in Russia to temporary management — The Rio Times
In Russia, the aggressor state, President Vladimir Putin signed Decree No. 738 in mid-October 2026, transferring the Russian divisions of five Europe-linked companies to temporary management. The list includes flooring manufacturer Tarkett, hygiene products manufacturer Ontex, as well as Kappa Rus, Menshen Packaging CIS and Eviosys Packaging Kuban, The Rio Times reports.
Who will manage the assets
The decree provides for the transfer of the assets to the management of Centre Capital. In Tarkett's case, it covers shares in the Russian company Tarkett owned by the group's Serbian subsidiary, as well as 100% of Tarkett Sommer.
According to Meduza, cited by the publication, Tarkett has two plants in Russia, in the Moscow and Samara regions. Kappa Rus is described as a paper packaging manufacturer previously owned by Ireland's Smurfit Kappa. Ontex Ru is linked to the Belgian Ontex group, Eviosys Packaging Kuban to the Dutch division of Sonoco, and Menshen Packaging CIS to Germany's Menshen.
How temporary management works
The legal basis for such decisions is Russian presidential Decree No. 302 of April 25, 2023. It allows for the introduction of temporary management over movable and immovable property, shares, securities and property rights connected with states that Moscow calls “unfriendly.”
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Usually, the Federal Agency for State Property Management, Rosimushchestvo, is appointed as the manager, but the Russian president may designate another entity. The manager has powers to inventory and preserve the assets, but may not dispose of them. Formal ownership rights may remain with the foreign shareholder, although it loses control over management, cash flows and personnel appointments.
Previous cases
Temporary management ends only by decision of the Russian president and has no fixed term. In 2023, the Russian assets of Germany's Uniper and Finland's Fortum were added to the list, followed later by Danone Russia and the Baltika brewery, in which 98.56% of shares belonged to Carlsberg's Swedish division.
Danone was removed from the list in March 2024. Baltika's assets were also removed before Carlsberg agreed to sell its stake to the company's employees. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov called the new decision a continuation of the trend and linked it to what Moscow considers the illegal retention of Russian funds and the expropriation of Russian companies' property abroad.
