Japan Tobacco (JT) said on 6 November that a Russian presidential decree signed the previous day has put four of its Russian manufacturing subsidiaries under temporary administration. The company gave the news in a short notice headed "On the group's Russian business".
What JT says happened
JT said it had kept operating in Russia while complying with all domestic and foreign sanctions and regulations. It said it has now confirmed that, under the decree signed on 5 November, four of the group's Russian local companies, all of them manufacturers, are subject to temporary administration.
The notice describes the status as temporary administration. It does not say ownership of the four companies has been transferred, and it does not use the words confiscation or nationalization.
What is still open
JT said it is working to establish the details of the matter, the responses open to it and the effect on the group. The notice does not name the four subsidiaries, set out what temporary administration means for their day-to-day operations, or put a figure on the financial impact.
The company said it will publish promptly anything it determines needs disclosing.