Government considerably expands blacklist of foreign-owned companies

January 28, BPN. The number of Belarus-registered companies whose foreign shareholders are prohibited from selling their shares has increased by some 900 percent, according to the Council of Ministers’ January 23 decision published on the National Legal Internet Portal.

The original list, passed on July 1, included 190 companies. The ban targeted shareholders from countries that imposed sanctions against Belarusian individuals or entities.

The government decided that their shares should be blocked on depo accounts “to protect the interests of the state.” A depo account is a Belarusian depository’s special accounting register of securities’ owners and obligations.

The list was slightly amended last autumn, and now has been expanded to include a total of 1,849 companies.