Putin approves sale of UniCredit's Russian subsidiary

Russian President Vladimir Putin has approved the restructuring and sale process regarding the Russian subsidiary of Italy-based UniCredit.

According to the decree published on the Russian government's website, the necessary authorization has been granted for the restructuring of UniCredit's assets in Russia and the sale of the new unit to be created within this scope.

The transaction required the president's approval due to restrictions Russia has imposed on the transfer of assets belonging to investors from "unfriendly" countries.

In a statement in May, UniCredit announced that it had reached a non-binding agreement to sell a portion of its bank in Russia to a "private investor" from the United Arab Emirates.

Italian UniCredit is considered among the largest Western banks continuing its operations in Russia, alongside Austria-based Raiffeisen and Hungary-based OTP.