Putin transfers U.S. company AptarGroup's Russian plant to temporary control of Danone's former Russian arm

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree placing the entire stake in Aptar Vladimir under temporary management. Aptar Vladimir is owned by France's Aptar Europe Holding and operates a plant in Russia producing plastic packaging. Aptar Europe Holding is itself owned by AptarGroup, a multinational company headquartered in the United States.

The decree names H&N as the temporary manager. H&N is the legal entity behind Logika Moloka, the current name of Danone's Russian division, which was nationalized in 2023 under a separate Putin decree.

This move follows a similar pattern seen just days earlier. On September 17, Putin signed a law placing the Russian assets of Auchan, Nestlé, Lemana PRO (formerly Leroy Merlin), and French logistics operator FM Logistic under temporary management by a company called L.E.V. Management. The Kremlin stated that these companies were placed under temporary management because they originate from countries Russia considers unfriendly and that are said to be actively involved in military action against it.

What happened to Danone's Russian business

After Danone's Russian division was nationalized, Yakub Zakriev — nephew of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov and Chechnya's agriculture minister — was appointed as its new CEO. Two months later, the division was renamed from Danone Russia to H&N and began operating under the Health & Nutrition brand.