Russian authorities have threatened international corporations like IBM, Coca Cola with arrests and asset seizures

The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday that Russian authorities have threatened international corporations intending to depart from the country with arrests and asset seizures, citing a probable economic disaster as a result of Western sanctions.

According to the business daily, Russian prosecutors have issued warnings to a number of multinational companies, including Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Procter & Gamble, IBM, and Yum Brands, the parent company of KFC and Pizza Hut, via phone calls, letters, and in-person visits.

They have threatened to detain government critics or take assets, including intellectual property.

“The warnings have prompted at least one of the targeted companies to limit communications between its Russian business and the rest of the company, out of concern that emails or text messages among colleagues may be intercepted, some of the people (familiar with the matter) said,” according to the Wall Street Journal.

Following the invasion of Ukraine, Russia has been subjected to unprecedented sanctions imposed by Western nations, with a growing number of corporations announcing their withdrawals or plans to stop operations in the country.

Russian officials have stepped up attempts to keep money out of the country and defend the ruble, which has already lost a significant amount of value against the dollar.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated that selecting “external” managers to lead such multinational enterprises in Russia “in order to transfer them to people who want to make them work” without using the word “nationalisation.”

Meanwhile, the prosecutor’s office on Friday demanded “tight control” of companies that had announced a suspension of their operations in Russia, threatening prosecution if they did not comply with labour legislation.

Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Procter & Gamble, and Yum Brands all declined to comment when AFP reached out to them on Sunday.