Dina Kravchenko

We would like to inform you about the latest news in the field of Business Regulation. In accordance with the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated 29 December 2023 No. 2405 an experiment on labelling of certain types of cosmetics and household chemicals is introduced1. The experiment will last from 15 January 2024 to 28 February 2025. Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated 29 December 2023 No. 2405 “On conducting on the territory of the Russian Federation an experiment on labelling by means of identification of certain types of perfume and cosmetic products and household chemicals”

Dina Kravchenko, Senior Associate, published an article in AEB Magazine on Green Initiative on “Status and potential of ESG laws and ESG rating systems in Russia”. In her article, Dina explained that government ESG policies should encourage companies to develop and disclose measures that guarantee their financial, environmental sustainability and social responsibility. Dina also covered the following issues: ESG-practices development in Russia: trends and challenges Challenges of ESG-ratings and assignment thereof Impact of ESG-practices on investment decisions and financial performance of companies Click here to read the article in full.

On October 26, our firm held a webinar dedicated to the current legal trends and regulatory changes in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry, which companies may face in Russia. During the webinar ALRUD experts have covered topics such as: Expansion of mandatory labeling requirements Harmonization of Russian and EAEU legislation Acceleration of registration of new medicines Extension of counter-sanctions measures Latest trends of regulatory clearance of transactions Focus on the pre-audit analysis of business as the main direction of the new tax policy Current findings and trends in enforcement practice in patent disputes and registration of generics Settlements under foreign trade contracts: requirements and restrictions of currency legislation The speakers of the webinar were: Maria Ostashenko, Partner, Dina Kravchenko, Senior Associate, Ksenia Erokhina, Senior Associate, Ilya Khodakov, Senior Associate, Sergey Artemiev, Senior Associate and Alexander Artemenko, Associate. More information on the services and expertise of ALRUD's Healthcare and Pharmaceutical Industry team can be found here.

On 1 September 2023, the legal framework for seed farming in Russia will take effect. At present, lawmakers are preparing highly controversial regulations, which essentially aim to limit foreign investments in the Russian seed farming sector. The central idea is to implement a set of rules that require Russian companies involved in the production of agricultural plant seed varieties and hybrids to localize their activities (“Localization Rules”). Although the final version of the Localization Rules has not yet been approved, it is already possible to identify some key provisions that are likely to be adopted: {{1.}} Russian companies owned by foreign investors are seen as the initial target of the Localization Rules. They will be obliged to set up JVs with Russian investors that control at least 51% of the company’s shares to be able to continue seed farming in Russia. NB! However, the wording is still unclear, and we cannot rule out the possibility that all Russian investors will have to stick to the Localization Rules as well. {{2.}} The development and production of agricultural plant seed varieties and hybrids in Russia will be subject to additional localization requirements, including the availability of land plots, local production and research facilities, among other things. {{3.}} Each company involved in these activities will have to prepare its own localization plan that must be agreed with the Russian Ministry of Agriculture. Carve-outs A transition period for foreign investors to comply with the new rules is being discussed. It might be possible to hire Russian contractors for localization work. Producers might also be able to buy foreign raw materials (germplasm) to create seed varieties and hybrids in Russia. Conclusion Even though there are still many unanswered questions in the existing draft of the Localization Rules, it is highly likely that access of foreign investors to the seed market in Russia will be limited in the near future.

The September issue of The Inter-Pacific Bar Association (IPBA) Journal relating to legal issues of Metaverse features an article by ALRUD experts entitled “Regulatory Trends Concerning the Metaverse in Russia”. In the article the experts presented a brief overview of the current Russian regulatory trends which may have influence on the Metaverse, and provided a forecast of possible legal changes as it continues to evolve. The article was prepared by Dina Kravchenko, ALRUD Senior Associate, Eva-Maria Shakhmaeva, ALRUD Trainee, and Maxim Alekseyev, ALRUD Senior Partner. The Inter-Pacific Bar Association ('IPBA') is an international association of business and commercial lawyers with a focus on the Asia-Pacific region.

ALRUD Regulatory practice is proud to present you the Regulatory Guide for the Third Quarter of 2021. The points of focus of this regulatory guide are product compliance, regulatory enforcement and environment protection. Most, if not all, of the topics commented in this guide have strategic importance for the Russian regulatory field. They have either been long awaited: the perspective of the new Seed Farming Law has been discussed for the last two years; possibility for the issue of Carbon Units and CO2 emissions have been largely expected by most of the business community, or have a long-lasting impact: Chestny Znak traceability system has beenin development since 2018, and currently 16 categories of goods are subject to traceability requirements with many new acts and regulations being enacted every year; responsibility is long-standing; the concept of extended product liability, recycling, and payment of Environmental Fees has been steadily evolving since 2015 from a low-paced regulation imposing no real obligation to completely indispensable piece of regulation causing a lot of questions for the business, or reshape the system of interaction between the business and the government, like the completely new risk-oriented system of administrative inspections which sets out a new full set of rules and requirements to the functioning of business, especially of entities engaged in production and sales of tangible products. The review was published with the participation of ALRUD experts - Maxim Alekseev, Senior Partner and Head of ALRUD Regulatory practice, Timur Akhundov, Co-Head of Regulatory Practice, Of Counsel, Dina Kravchenko, Senior Associate, and Boris Pribylov, Associate. Full text of this publication can be found here.

ALRUD and Group-IB held a joint webinar titled «Brave New Crypto World!» on 16 December 2021. Experts who spoke at the event included ALRUD Senior Partner Maxim Alekseyev, ALRUD Counsel Kira Egorova, ALRUD Senior Consultant Dina Kravchenko, Group-IB Deputy CEO for Digital Risk Protection Andrey Busargin, and Group-IB Lead Digital Forensic Trainer Anastasia Barinova. During their presentations, the ALRUD experts spoke about specific aspects of Russia’s legislative regulation of cryptocurrency. They pointed out how the legal status of digital assets has changed over the past three years and explained how digital financial assets differ from digital currency. The second part of their presentation addressed such issues as the circulation, protection, compliance, and taxation of cryptocurrency. The audience was particularly interested in the nuances of cryptocurrency inheritance. The Group-IB leaders spoke about the most high-profile cyberattacks in 2021, predicted how cybercrime might evolve in 2022, and shared digital literacy rules regarding the protection of both personal and corporate digital assets. Group-IB is one of the leading providers of solutions that aim to detect and prevent cybercrime and online fraud.