Loans to Russian non-residents: new rules

LEGAL DIGEST \ 19.07.2018

The requirements for loan agreements between legal entities that are residents and non-residents have been renewed.

If residents are engaged in foreign trade and provide foreign currency or Russian currency as loans to non-residents, a loan repayment date must be indicated in the agreement. If the agreement does not indicate such date, a bank may refuse to perform the transaction.

Moreover, a company that has issued a loan to a non-resident must ensure that deadlines for the repayment of the borrowed funds are met.

If the funds are not repaid on time, the bank will notify the Russian Central Bank and the company may have the sanctions below imposed on it:

• a fine calculated based on 1/150 of the key rate of the Central Bank for each day the debt is overdue;
• up to 100% of the loan;
• a company’s CEO may have a fine imposed of RUB 20,000 to 30,000 per offence.

Acsour will help you to properly formalize your relationships with foreign counterparties.