The ministry summoned Ambassador Nikolai Nozdrev, Kyodo News reported. The decree placed 100% stakes in four entities under the new management: J.T.I. Donskoy Tabak in Rostov-on-Don, J.T.I. Yelets in the Lipetsk Region, Petro in St. Petersburg and Cres Neva in the Leningrad Region.
Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama told a press conference that Tokyo had called on Moscow to rescind the decision. She said Japan has repeatedly urged Russia to protect the legitimate interests of Japanese citizens and companies. Kimitake Nakamura, director-general of the Japanese foreign ministry's European affairs bureau, made a similar appeal.
The Russian division accounts for about 10% of JTI's total turnover, according to Kyodo News. In 2023 revenue at the St. Petersburg Petro factory rose from 55.9 billion to 73.2 billion rubles, with net profit reaching a record 13.2 billion rubles, The Bell reported.
JTI, a third of which is owned by the Japanese government, has operated in Russia since 1999. After buying Donskoy Tabak in 2018 it became the country's largest cigarette producer. Its Russian factories and offices employ about 4,000 people. The group's brands include Winston, Camel, LD, Sobranie and Glamour, as well as the Russian labels Petr I, Russky Stil and Troika.
After the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, JTI did not leave Russia but suspended investment in Russian production and marketing. Agentstvo reported that the beneficiary of Industrial Assets is Taimuraz Bolloev, a businessman from North Ossetia and founder of the Baltika brewery who has known Putin since the 1990s. In 2023 he again took charge of Baltika after its nationalization and sale. According to the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), the money for the purchase came from structures belonging to Putin's friend Gennady Timchenko.
The Insider noted that it has counted at least five companies in Russia named Industrial Assets, and it is unknown which one received the JTI assets.