Putin gives Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo green light to sell its assets in Russia

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) – Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday authorized the sale of Italian banking group Intesa Sanpaolo's assets in Russia.

According to a decree signed by Putin and published on the government portal, the bank will be able to sell all its assets in Russia.

Since the beginning of the Russian "special military operation" in Ukraine, many financial organization stopped their work in Russia.

Intesa Sanpaolo announced in August that it had decided to curtail activities of its representative office in Moscow.

To avoid mass capital outflow, the Russian government introduced a special procedure, requesting prior authorization from the government for the sale of the companies with foreign participation.