On November 22, 2024, the Government of the Russian Federation (the “Government”) approved Resolution No. 1607 dated November 22, 2024 (the “Resolution”) on the experiment in the territory of the Russian Federation to conduct monitoring of Russian manufacturers of goods which are subject to mandatory marking with means of identification using the state information monitoring system for the circulation of goods subject to mandatory marking with means of identification (the “Experiment”).

More in our update.

On October 23, the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Russian Federation (the “FAS”) has published recommendations for preventing greenwashing in marketing communications (the “Recommendations”).

Greenwashing is described as actions involving the distribution of false or incorrect environmental statements that mislead consumers regarding the environmental characteristics of goods in order to obtain unjustified advantages.

The Recommendations provide for the concept of environmental statements, their types and requirements for them, as well as the consequences of non-compliance with the requirements for such statements.

Lidings’ Corporate and M&A practice team has successfully concluded its advisory role for the owners of Autotechinmash LLC, the largest auto dealer of Belarusian cars, in restructuring of the company’s founding team.

It has been reported in public sources that the Sub-Commission of the Government Commission for Control of Foreign Investments in the Russian Federation (the “Sub-Commission”), which issues permits for the sale of Russian assets by companies from ‘unfriendly’ countries, has decided to tighten the conditions for the exit of foreign companies from the Russian market.

On 9 July 2024, the State Duma passed Bill No. 638771-8 “On Introduction of the Draft Federal Law ’On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation’” (the “Bill”) in first reading, which focuses on changes in the regulatory regime for the circulation of dietary supplements in Russia.

The proposed amendments would introduce significant changes affecting the circulation of dietary supplements and, to a certain extent, bringing it closer to the regime established for pharmaceuticals and medical devices.

We are delighted to announce that Lidings has updated The Pharma Legal Handbook: Russia - practical directory focused on the key aspects of legislative regulation of pharmaceutical industry in Russia.

According to the Group-IB research, last year the amount of publicly released databases of Russian companies six times outnumbered those unlawfully made public in 2021. At the same time, special provisions, regulating liability for personal data leaks, are not foreseen neither in the Code of Administrative Offenses of Russia nor in the Criminal Code.

Therefore, on 4 December 2023, the draft laws No. 502104-8 “On Amendments to the Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation” (“draft law No. 502104-8") and No. 502113-8 “On Amendments to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation” (“draft law No. 502113-8”), providing toughening liability for personal data leakage, were submitted to the State Duma.

According to the explanatory notes to these draft laws, currently existing liability is disproportional and incomparable to the potential social harm which can personal data leakage result in.