Foreign owners need government permission to sell stakes in Belarus-based businesses

January 17, Pozirk. Owners from “unfriendly countries” need permission from the State Property Committee to sell their stakes and assets based in Belarus, according to Directive No 27 published on the National Legal Internet Portal.

The document also regulates property sale by companies in which foreigners from “unfriendly countries” own 25 percent or more of the authorized capital.

The State Property Committee will be in charge of drafting permits valid for one year.

In November 2022, Alaksandar Łukašenka threatened to nationalize foreign-owned companies should they decide to leave Belarus over its complicity in the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Earlier that year, the government compiled a list of Belarusian companies with owners from “unfriendly” countries, prohibiting them to sell their shares.

The original list included 190 entries and was reviewed several times later.

The ban targets foreign shareholders from countries that imposed sanctions on Belarusian individuals or entities, including Austria, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Italy, Poland, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States.