A total of 11,939 companies registered in Bulgaria are owned by Russian individuals or legal entities, reported a BGNES reporter.
Of this figure, the largest number of companies is the sole owner of a Russian individual or legal entity – 7,118.
4,659 are limited liability companies with more than 40 percent participation by Russian individuals or legal entities.
And there are 162 companies in which a Russian citizen is registered as the actual owner.
The data are as of September 2, 2024 and are based on inquiries in the Information System of the Commercial Register and the Register of Non-Profit Legal Entities (TRRYULNC).
BGNES recalls that earlier the rating agency Moody's indicated that there are 9,581 companies in our country that meet the condition of 40% Russian ownership. According to this indicator, our country ranks second in the European Union.
The rating agency has identified 46,000 entities in the EU owned by Russian companies or Russian individuals. Two-thirds of them operate in the Czech Republic – 12,480, in Bulgaria – 9,581, in Germany – 4,296, in Latvia – 3,338 and in Italy – 2,539.
"Banks, credit institutions and other obligees in these countries should pay particular attention to the problem," warns Moody's.
The EU definition of Russian ownership applies to entities that are more than 40% owned - directly, indirectly or through aggregate ownership - by a Russian natural or legal person, including dual nationals.
From July 2024, credit and financial institutions in the EU are obliged to comply with the new requirements for reporting transactions carried out by Russian owners, as specified by the European Commission. These requirements oblige institutions to report all "funds" transferred from an EU entity to any non-EU country when the transactions exceed €100,000 and originate from a Russian-owned entity.
Funds include financial assets such as cash, checks, money orders, money orders and other payment instruments, deposits with financial institutions or other entities, account balances and debts. Specific guidelines were also issued in 2022 related to the ban on accepting deposits from Russian citizens or individuals residing in Russia that exceed EUR 100,000.
The introduction of the latest accountability requirement follows this ban and the 12th package of EU sanctions against Russia related to the war with Ukraine. The regulation aims to provide a better assessment of potential Russia-related sanctions violations and outline Russia's sources of revenue. EU Member States are tasked with assessing information reported by obliged entities to detect potential violations or circumvention of sanctions. The European Commission will review the functioning of the new measures in December 2024.
A key challenge for credit and financial institutions is tracking the flow of indirect financial transfers and determining the extent of Russian ownership in relation to a company's transactions. Institutions often have oversight of direct transfers, but identifying indirect transfers and the level of Russian ownership has historically been difficult. | BGNES
