Johannes Tolar, CEO of Metro's Russian subsidiary, met specifically with Vladimir Putin's economic adviser to discuss the arrangement, Le Monde reported. A source close to Moscow business circles said the company's management decided to "act preemptively."
Metro concluded that Auchan, Nestle, Lemana PRO (formerly Leroy Merlin) and FM Logistic, placed under external management by a Putin decree on Sept. 17, had been caught off guard. Le Monde's source called the move risky, noting that a peaceful agreement and a sale of the business on more favorable terms remained possible. He did not specify what counter-demands the Kremlin might make.
On Sept. 28, Putin signed a decree transferring Metro's assets to the temporary management of AO UK Torg RUS. The entity was registered on Sept. 8, 20 days before the decree. Its sole owner and director is the same Johannes Tolar. Metro AG has confirmed that the management company belongs to Tolar.
After the decree, the German group publicly described the development as "temporary forced management" and said it formally remained the owner of the assets but had lost operational control over the Russian company. Metro's press service declined to comment on Le Monde's information, RBC reported.
Under the Sept. 28 decree, UK Torg RUS received stakes in OOO Metro Cash and Carry, OOO Metro Warehouse Noginsk and OOO Retail Property 5. The document did not state the reasons for introducing temporary management.
According to The Insider, Metro's Russian business had assets worth 130.5 billion rubles at the end of 2025. Revenue of the main Russian legal entity was 260.3 billion rubles, and net profit was 4.4 billion. The chain comprises 91 shopping centers and continues to operate, including in the annexed Crimea and Sevastopol.
As The Insider wrote, in 2022 a store in the chain in Samara gave food to Russian servicemen free of charge at least twice, according to the official journal of the Samara Region Public Chamber. Metro's Ukrainian division, meanwhile, provided assistance to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
The Metro case differs from the transfer of Auchan, Nestle and FM Logistic assets to management: there, foreign assets were handed to an outside management structure, whereas in Metro's case the management company was created in advance by the head of its own Russian division, The Insider notes.
The transfer of Russian assets of major Western companies to temporary management is aimed at forcing European countries to "think about what sanctions they are introducing," a senior source in the Russian government told Reuters. Asked which companies could be next, he said: "Let them be afraid."