Putin puts Nestlé and Auchan under temporary administration in Russia

President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on 17 September placing the Russian businesses of Nestlé and Auchan under temporary administration. Control passed to a Moscow company called L.E.V. Management, registered in 2024 and little known outside the registry. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on 18 September that both firms come from countries Russia lists as unfriendly and that those states are actively involved in military action against Russia. He said only temporary administration was under consideration for now. He did not rule out a later change of owner.

The same decree covered a 0.007 percent stake held by the French group Adeo in Le Monlid, the Russian legal entity of Leroy Merlin, which now trades as Lemana PRO. The Nestlé and Auchan transfer is the largest action of this kind since Moscow took over the local units of Danone and Carlsberg's Baltika in 2023. Temporary administration does not, on paper, change title. In practice it has been the first step toward a sale to Kremlin-linked buyers.

What the two companies still run

Auchan entered Russia in 2002 and did not leave after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. At the end of 2025 it employed 24,236 people and operated 229 stores. First-half 2026 sales in Russia were 127 billion roubles, about $1.5 billion. Some reports put the store count near 230 and the workforce near 30,000 when the online business is included. Auchan declined to comment on the decree.

Nestlé, based in Vevey, Switzerland, scaled back after 2022. It stopped new investment, pulled some brands including KitKat and Nesquik from sale, and said it did not plan to turn a profit in Russia. It kept factories that make staple foods and has argued that those lines are essential. A company spokesman said on Friday that Nestlé was assessing the situation and its options and would take all necessary steps to protect its rights and keep operations going for employees and other stakeholders.

Kommersant reported in mid-August that a firm called KS Logistika had asked the Kremlin to place five Nestlé legal entities under temporary administration. The paper said the request cited a halt in capacity expansion and a stop in exports of goods made in Russia. That request now looks like the paper trail for Thursday's decree.

Why the timing matters

Peskov named France's policy as one factor. He did not name Switzerland in the same breath, though Nestlé is Swiss. France has supplied artillery and air-defence equipment to Ukraine and has backed tighter European measures against Moscow. Switzerland has kept its own sanctions list while remaining outside the European Union. The decree treats both corporate homes as hostile enough to justify a takeover of management.

President Donald Trump has talked in recent weeks about restarting some business with Russia if a settlement in Ukraine can be reached. The Nestlé and Auchan move cuts the other way. It tells remaining Western firms that staying on after 2022 is not a shield. Danone and Carlsberg learned that in 2023. Companies that sold early took large write-downs. Companies that stayed kept cash flow and staff, and now face a state-appointed manager.

What L.E.V. Management is

Public records show a thin company. Wikipedia-style summaries circulating on Friday said interior minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev headed the firm. Independent confirmation of that link was thin in the English-language filings. What is clear is that the administrator is the state's choice, not the companies'. Staff, suppliers and landlords now report to that administrator. Dividends and brand decisions sit with it as well.

For shoppers the change may be invisible for a time. The stores and factories are still open. The legal fight will be slow. Nestlé can protest in foreign courts and at investment tribunals. Enforcement inside Russia is another matter. The open question is whether L.E.V. Management runs the assets for months and then hands them back, or whether a Russian buyer appears the way one did after Danone and Baltika were taken.