Putin seizes Russian operations of cigarette giant Japan Tobacco International

By Serguei Doubine & Euronews Russian Published on 5 November 2026 - 17:21 GMT+1 Share Comments Add Euronews on Google Share Facebook Twitter Flipboard Send Reddit Linkedin Messenger Telegram VK Bluesky Threads Whatsapp The decree transferred JTI’s four factories, around 4,000 employees and roughly 40% of the Russian cigarette market to a state-linked holding company. The latest seizure added to a list that includes Nestlé, Auchan, Leroy Merlin and Metro. Russian President Vladimir Putin placed Japan Tobacco International's (JTI) operations under state control on Thursday, ordering their transfer by decree to a state-linked holding company AO Promyshlennye aktivy. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The order covers JTI's factories in St Petersburg, Rostov-on-Don, the Lipetsk region and the Leningrad region. The company employs around 4,000 people in Russia and holds roughly 40% of the Russian cigarette market, making it the country's largest manufacturer. Its Russian product range includes the international brands Winston, Glamour, Camel, LD and Sobranie, and the domestic labels Pyotr I, Russky Stil and Donskoi Tabak. JTI, whose headquarters are in Geneva, entered the Russian market in 1999 and acquired local producer Donskoi Tabak in 2018. Dmitry Medvedev, president of the Russian Federation in 2011, with JTI president and CEO Pierre de Labouchere at the Gorki presidential residence: Labouchere was awarded the Order of Friendship. Mikhail Klimentyev/AP2011 JT Group has invested $4.6bn in its Russian operations over more than 20 years, according to a company profile updated in November 2025. After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the company did not leave the country but suspended new investment in Russian production and marketing. The seizure follows Russia's arrest last month of Yuki Imai, a journalist with the Japanese newspaper Hokkaido Shimbun, on espionage charges. The Russian Foreign Ministry has accused Tokyo of systematically using journalists to gather intelligence inside the country. Japan has rejected the accusation. Japan, which has a long-standing dispute with Russia over the Chishima Islands in the Pacific Ocean, has also joined some Western sanctions over the ongoing all-out war in Ukraine. Related Putin seizes five more European firms, continuing Russia's hostile asset crackdownUniCredit gets Putin’s approval to sell part of its Russian business JTI joins a list of European companies whose Russian assets have been transferred to state management under the same mechanism, including Swiss food group Nestlé, French retailers Auchan and Leroy Merlin, and German retailer Metro. Moscow has presented the external management process as a response to sanctions imposed after the 2022 invasion. Restrictions introduced for companies from states deemed "unfriendly" include caps on dividend payments, which trap profits inside Russia, and substantial fees on sales of Russian business assets. Related Why do so many western companies continue to do business in Russia?German companies pay Russia €1.72 billion in taxes, raising concerns of funding its war in Ukraine Putin said on 1 October the mechanism also gave Russia the ability to prepare retaliatory measures against any possible future nationalisation of Russian assets abroad, while leaving open the possibility of returning control to former owners if "conditions improved". External management involves appointing state-linked administrators to run a company’s Russian assets without the foreign owner’s consent or compensation, transferring effective control to the Russian state regardless of who retains nominal ownership. Go to accessibility shortcuts Share Comments Add Euronews on Google Read more Russia plans ticket surcharge to bankroll struggling aircraft industry Hockey nations refuse to play Russia as Germany weighs pulling out as host Ukraine hits Russian data centres in blow to Moscow's AI capabilities Russia's invasion of Ukraine Vladimir Putin Japan War in Ukraine Russia's invasion of Ukraine Corporate Comments