The key facts

  • The seizure covers assets of Tarkett, Kappa Rus, Ontex RU, Eviosys Packaging Kuban and Menshen Packaging CIS — revenue exceeding 50 billion rubles (€532 million)
  • The temporary manager is Management Company Tsentr Kapital, CEO Marat Mirkhaydarov
  • The mechanism has been in effect since the April 2023 decree; its first targets were Danone and Carlsberg

New Decree on External Administration

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on the forced seizure of Russian assets of the French flooring manufacturer Tarkett and four more European companies with a combined annual revenue of more than 50 billion rubles (about €532 million). The temporary manager appointed is Management Company Tsentr Kapital, which, according to Russian media, was registered in February 2026. Its CEO and beneficiary is named as Marat Mirkhaydarov — former head of the administration of the governor of Zabaykalsky Krai, who resigned in 2025 due to an injury sustained in the war against Ukraine.

Which Companies Are Affected

In addition to Tarkett, the following came under control: paper packaging manufacturer Kappa Rus (formerly part of Ireland's Smurfit Kappa), hygiene products manufacturer Ontex RU (linked to Belgium's Ontex Group), metal container manufacturer Eviosys Packaging Kuban (part of the US Sonoco Products Company) and Menshen Packaging CIS (owned by the German plastic packaging manufacturer Menshen). All five companies continued operating in Russia after the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The Importance of the Russian Market for Tarkett

The international Tarkett Group produces flooring for residential, commercial, industrial and sports premises. In its 2024 report, the company stated that it ranks third in the world in flooring sales and is the global leader in the vinyl flooring segment. The Russian market is of great historical importance to the group: it is home to one of its largest vinyl production plants in the world. Despite the war, Tarkett retained two plants in Russia out of 34 production sites worldwide and continued paying taxes to the Russian budget.

The Asset Seizure Campaign

The temporary administration mechanism was created by Putin's decree in April 2023; its first targets were Danone and Carlsberg. In September 2026, the Russian assets of Switzerland's Nestlé, the German Metro chain, France's Auchan and Leroy Merlin (under the name Lemana Pro) were placed under temporary administration, followed by a manufacturer of plastic containers and dispensing systems owned by the French holding Aptar Europe Holding. The property of the September group went to L.E.V. Management, a company created shortly before the decision and, according to media reports, linked to Russian security structures.

Reaction and Context

Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov directly linked the transfer of Nestlé and Auchan assets to the fact that these are companies from unfriendly countries — the official Russian designation for EU states, the US, the UK and others that have imposed sanctions. According to Peskov, European countries are participating in military actions against Russia and are complicit in Ukraine's strikes on Russian infrastructure. Russia presents the seizures, in part, as a response to the EU's freezing of about €300 billion in Russian sovereign assets. Western governments and international lawyers call the actions illegal expropriation; companies can in principle seek compensation through international arbitration under bilateral investment treaties, but enforcement of rulings against the Kremlin is practically impossible.