Western Companies in Russia Fear Further Asset Grabs by the Kremlin
After Moscow’s seizure of Danone and Carlsberg operations, exiting foreign businesses may have difficulty finding buyers.
Cartons of Activia prune-flavored yogurt on the production line at a Danone factory in Russia.
Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg
He’s 32, the “dear nephew” of feared Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, a onetime mayor of Grozny, the Chechen capital, and a regional agricultural minister. Now, Yakub Zakriev is moving into a new role as the head of yogurt maker Danone’s Russia subsidiary.
Installed by the Russian government after President Vladimir Putin’s move on July 16 to seize the assets of the French dairy group, Zakriev has already been to the headquarters in Moscow to meet the staff working there and inspect his new assets, said a source familiar with the meeting at Danone’s former Russia unit who didn’t want to be identified because of the sensitivity of the situation.