Vladimir Putin has placed all Russian operations of international tobacco company Japan Tobacco International (JTI) under state control. In a presidential decree, the Kremlin leader ordered JTI’s assets to be transferred to the Russian state-owned company AO Promyshlennye Aktivy, Euronews reports.
Under the decree issued by Putin, JTI’s four factories in Russia were nationalized. Together, they employ approximately 4,000 people and account for around 40% of the country’s cigarette market, making JTI the largest tobacco producer in the Russian Federation.
The seizure of JTI’s assets adds to a growing list of similar nationalizations involving European companies such as Nestlé, Auchan, Leroy Merlin and Metro.
The four nationalized JTI factories are located in St. Petersburg, Rostov-on-Don, the Lipetsk region, and the Leningrad region.
JTI Russia’s product range includes the international brands Winston, Glamour, Camel, LD and Sobranie, as well as the local brands Piotr I, Ruski Stil and Donskoi Tabak.
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