In October 2022, the European Commission approved the eighth package of sanctions against Russia. Among other restrictions it established a ban on the provision of legal services to Russian companies. A few weeks later, on October 24, the European Commission published answers to frequently asked questions including explanations as to what kind of legal services fall under the ban and whether the extension of sanctions to this sphere does not entail restrictions on the right to protection.

The President signed the Decree which introduces additional restrictions on transactions with persons from “unfriendly” states.

Pursuant to the Decree, which established a special procedure for transactions with shares of Russian LLC, on 19 September 2022 the Government adopted Resolution on the procedure for issuing permits for such transactions.

The President issued Decree No 618 dated 08 September 2022, which established additional restrictions on transactions involving foreign persons in relation to shares of Russian limited liability companies.

The Government of the Russian Federation has submitted to the Parliament bill providing for amendments to paragraph 3 of Article 453 of the Civil Code. According to the current wording, in the case of a change or termination of the contract by court, the obligations are considered changed or terminated from the moment the court decision on the change or termination of the contract enters into force.

The Federation Council is considering a Federal Law “On Amendments to Part Two of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation (on Certain Measures of Tax Support)”.

On July 14, 2022, the Federal Law No. 323-FZ "On amendments to certain legislative acts of the Russian Federation" came into effect. The Law, among other things, amends the Federal Law No. 46-FZ of March 8, 2022 and provides for the specifics of regulating relations with tenants in the field of trade and (or) catering from unfriendly countries until the end of 2022.

The US Financial Crimes Enforcement Agency (FinCEN) and the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) have issued a joint review of recommendations and "red flags" that they suggest financial institutions should use to prevent violations of export regulations and restrictions imposed on Russia.

On July 06, the State Duma adopted in the third reading a draft federal law establishing the conditions for the transformation of branches and representative offices of foreign companies in Russia into Russian limited liability companies (the “Draft law”) .

On June 10, 2022 the Government of the Russian Federation submitted to the State Duma a Federal Law “On amendments to certain legislative acts of the Russian Federation and on establishing the specifics of regulating corporate relations in 2022” (the “Draft Law”).