Latham & Watkins LLP (LexBlog Russia)

M&A deal teams face complicated legal issues amidst rapidly changing global sanctions and guidance. By Richard Butterwick, Les P. Carnegie, Charles Claypoole, Beatrice Lo, Mikhail Turetsky, Andrew P. Galdes, Ruchi G. Gill, Thomas F. Lane, and Catherine Campbell Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has created new headwinds for M&A dealmakers, as a complicated matrix of sanctions...

The key issues PE deal teams are facing amidst rapidly changing global sanctions and guidance. By Les Carnegie, Charles Claypoole, Tom D. Evans, David J. Walker, Ruchi Gill, Alli Hugi, Thomas Lane, and Catherine Campbell Russia’s recent invasion of Ukraine has created new headwinds for PE firms, as a matrix of sanctions and export controls...

As Russia’s internet law imposes new obligations on technology and infrastructure companies, the Russian government considers subordinate legislation. By Tim Wybitul, Ulrich Wuermeling, and Ksenia Koroleva On November 1, 2019, the majority of provisions of Russia’s internet law (RuNet Law) entered into force. Its principal purpose is to ensure the independent operation, safety, and security...

Judgement clarifies that the Brussels Recast Regulation does not reverse the West Tankers decision. By Oliver E. Browne and Robert Price In Nori Holdings v Bank Otkritie, Justice Males in the High Court issued an anti-suit injunction to restrain court proceedings commenced in Russia in breach of an arbitration clause, but refused to issue an...

By Ksenia Koroleva Russia has adopted a new law further toughening the country’s Internet-blocking regime and introducing a number of restrictive measures applicable to intermediaries providing access to blocked websites, IT networks, and information resources (hereinafter, “Blocked Websites”). The relevant provisions of Federal Law No. 276-FZ dated July 29, 2017 (the “Anonymizers Law”), came...

By Gail Crawford and Ksenia Koroleva The Federal Law No. 87-FZ of May 1, 2017, on Amendments to the Federal Law on Information, Information Technologies, and Information Protection (the Law) came into force on July 1, 2017. The Law introduces the definition of an audiovisual service owner and regulates their activities, including imposing ownership restrictions. The Notion of...

By Gail Crawford, Ksenia Koroleva, and Andrea Stout The State Duma, Russia’s lower chamber of Parliament, has adopted amendments to the Federal Law on Information, Information Technologies and Information Protection of the Russian Federation (the Law) in its first reading. Under the proposed amendments, messaging apps would be required, among other things, to verify users...

By Ksenia Koroleva On July 6, 2016, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed Federal Law No 374-FZ. This law is also known as the “Yarovaya” law (named after a Russian senator who was the main driving force for the law to come into existence). The Yarovaya law introduces amendments to certain Russian federal laws. The majority...

By Lore Leitner & Ksenia Koroleva Since the proposal of Federal Law No. 526-FZ (the Law) in December 2014, the Russian data protection regulator (Roscomnadzor) has not issued any official comments on the application of the new Law. Roscomnadzor did recently hold several meetings with a number of representatives of major IT companies in Russia...

The European Union (EU) enacted Council Regulation (EU) No 833/2014 (the Regulation), which contains ‘Stage 3’ sanctions against Russia. These sanctions resemble – but in other ways are different – from the latest US sanctions, and they amount to the stiffest anti-Russian actions taken by Europe since the end of the Cold War. Perhaps most...