Putin signs law banning licenses to foreign users of mineral resources
The law allows the Russian Railways company to use local subsoil plots to extract minerals for the construction of the Baikal-Amur and Trans-Siberian railways without holding an auction.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed legislation prohibiting foreign companies from obtaining licenses to develop mineral resources in Russia. The document was published on the official legal information portal.
According to the law, only legal entities established in accordance with Russian Federation law, as well as individual entrepreneurs who are Russian citizens, are permitted to use national mineral resources.
Foreign companies must establish legal entities in Russia and transfer subsoil plot rights to them in order to continue operating in Russia. Licenses to use subsoil held by foreigners will be transferred to Russian entities or returned to the subsoil fund.
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The law states that foreign legal entities must be notified of the need to transfer the right to use a subsoil plot to a Russian legal entity within 30 days of its implementation.
Following that, foreign subsoil users must create a legal entity in accordance with Russian Federation legislation within 90 days in order to continue their activities.
The law also provides for the Russian Railways company to use local subsoil plots to extract minerals for the construction of the Baikal-Amur and Trans-Siberian railways without holding an auction.
G7 bans Russian gold
It is worth mentioning Washington took moves to execute fresh sanctions on Russia agreed upon by G7 leaders on Tuesday, targeting Moscow's defense industry and prohibiting gold imports from the nation.
The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated 70 entities, many of which are critical to the Russian Federation’s defense industrial base, including State Corporation Rostec, the cornerstone of Russia’s defense, industrial, technology, and manufacturing sectors, as well as 29 Russian individuals.
The four G7 countries are set on banning Russian gold exports in a new bid to force Moscow into fully absorbing the repercussions of the sanctions imposed on the country in light of the Ukraine war by stopping it from buying the metal to avoid the brunt of the restrictive measures, the United Kingdom said.
The decision was taken by the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, and the United States, with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson claiming that the action would "directly hit Russian oligarchs and strike at the heart of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin's war machine."
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