Spotify closes Russian legal entity
Spotify has ceased operations in Russia and liquidated the legal entity representing the music streaming service: December 14, 2023. This was reported by local media with reference to the registry database.
The company has been registered in Russia since January 13, 2014, and filed for liquidation on February 6, 2023. Back in March 2022, Spotify announced that it was completely shutting down its operations in Russia. This decision was made after a “thorough assessment of the situation.” The legal entity was liquidated more than a year and a half later.
Consequences
With the termination of Spotify, users in Russia lost access to streaming music on this platform. However, they can restore their accounts in another region through the settings.
More and more Western companies are leaving the market of the aggressor country, so the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation has drafted a bill that gives the state the right to confiscate their property. The ministry has already compiled a list of 60 foreign companies that have left the Russian market, and their property may be nationalized.
Context
In a recent article, the New York Times writes that Putin is using the exodus of Western companies from Russia to enrich a loyal elite and finance the war.
Companies are forced to sell assets at very low prices, and the time to sell assets is limited. They can only be obtained by people close to Vladimir Putin.
The withdrawing companies were also subjected to ever-increasing taxes, which brought at least $1.25 billion to the Russian military treasury over the past year.
At the same time, Western companies that have announced their withdrawal from Russia have declared more than $103 billion in losses since the start of the full-scale war.
