Foreign Businesses in Russia Lost $167 Billion – Assets Redirected to Kremlin

Foreign companies in Russia have lost $167 billion since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The losses were caused by asset write-offs, unfair court decisions, and business seizures, according to a new report by the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE).   

Nearly $57 billion was lost by companies whose assets were confiscated by Russian authorities or transferred to local entities and state institutions. Before the expropriation, their market value was estimated at around $74 billion.

Some companies were also forced to pay at least $3 billion in an “exit tax,” which Russia made a mandatory condition for selling foreign assets. Since 2023, this tax has increased significantly, reaching a total of $1.5 billion over the year, KSE said.

As of early March 2025, 481 companies have fully left the Russian market. Around 1,357 businesses have reduced operations or are in the process of exiting.

Companies that left Russia often sold their businesses at a discount up to 90–100% below market value. They were bought by the Kremlin and its affiliated business groups, according to the KSE report.

Foreign energy sector companies in Russia faced the greatest financial losses. British Petroleum, ExxonMobil, Fortum, TotalEnergies, and Uniper collectively lost over $60 billion.

The biggest losses came from British Petroleum (BP), which lost $25.5 billion after exiting the Russian market and its stake in Rosneft. Austrian energy company Uniper lost $22 billion when the Kremlin nationalized its assets.

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In the automotive industry, French carmaker Renault lost $2.4 billion, while the German Volkswagen and Japanese Nissan also suffered major losses.

In the financial sector, French investment bank and financial services company Société Générale lost $3.3 billion, while Italy’s UniCredit and Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank faced large-scale lawsuits and asset write-offs.

In many cases, companies’ profits were frozen when exiting the Russian market, and assets were transferred to local state-controlled companies.

At least 30 companies, including Danone, Carlsberg, Fortum, Wintershall Dea, Uniper, and ExxonMobil, had their assets forcibly seized.

The hardest-hit companies came from the US ($46 billion in losses), Germany ($44.5 billion), the UK ($35.1 billion), France ($12.1 billion), Austria ($6.7 billion), and Finland ($5.1 billion)

More than 2,260 international companies continue to operate in Russia without significant changes, generating profits and paying taxes to the state that started the war in Ukraine.

Meanwhile Ukraine has lost $170 billion from direct damage of its infrastructure during Russia’s full-scale war, Kyis Post previously wrote based on the KSE report.

Losses in Ukrainian industry, including construction, and services amount to $14.4 billion. As of November 2024, around 500 enterprises have been damaged or destroyed, disrupting production capacity and logistics, the report says.

The total cost of reconstruction and recovery following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine is expected to cost the Ukrainian economy $524 billion over the next decade – approximately 2.8 times Ukraine’s estimated nominal GDP for 2024, according to an updated joint Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA4) for Ukraine.