Companies through which PhosAgro PJSC founder Andrey G. Guryev and members of his family own stakes in the Russian fertilizer company have moved to Russian jurisdiction, Interfax reported on April 20.
The two holding companies, Chlodwig Enterprises AG and Adorabella AG, became residents of the special administrative region (SAR) on Oktyabrsky Island in the Kaliningrad enclave this week, according to the report, citing the SAR management company.
The companies were previously registered in Switzerland.
The shares in Chlodwig Enterprises and Adorabella have been transferred to trusts, the economic beneficiaries of which are Andrey G. Guryev, his wife, and daughter, according to the report, citing PhosAgro’s website. Chlodwig Enterprises and Adorabella together own 43.66 percent of PhosAgro, and Gurvey’s wife, Yevgenia, owns another 4.82 percent.
Gurvey and his son, Andrey A. Guryev, resigned their PhosAgro Board memberships in March after being included on the European Union’s (E.U.) expanded list of sanctioned individuals on March 9 (GM March 11, pp. 1 and 34). Andrey A. Guryev also stepped down as PhosAgro’s CEO.
Amid a surge of interest in domiciling in Russia’s SARs from Russian companies and business affected by sanctions, the Russian government in March submitted changes to the law regulating re-domiciliation to the State Duma (Parliament). The new law, which was fast-tracked by lawmakers, allows personal funds and trusts to be registered in Russia’s SARs, and significantly simplifies the re-registration of foreign companies in the SARs, according to the report.
In March, PhosAgro reported it had transferred control of all its foreign trading companies (GM March 18, p. 30). The fertilizer group previously held a 95 percent stake in Phosint Ltd., via which it controlled all its foreign trading companies. Through a management buyout of Phosint by its trading structures, 95 percent of its shares were transferred to a new company, Negrino Ltd., reducing PhosAgro’s stake in Phosint to 5 percent.