Russian prosecutors seek to nationalise seized car dealership, court says

Russian prosecutors seek to nationalise seized car dealership, court says

Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has filed a lawsuit in a St Petersburg court seeking to nationalise car dealership Rolf, the court said late on Monday, just weeks after Moscow put the asset under the state's temporary management.

St Petersburg's Moskovskiy District Court said it had accepted a lawsuit filed by prosecutors, which seeks the seizure of all shares in Rolf, Russia's largest car dealership, and affiliated companies as "property obtained in violation of anti-corruption legislation".

Russian businessman Sergei Petrov, who owns Rolf, has long been accused by Russian authorities of illegally moving money abroad, charges he denies, and has had a warrant issued for his arrest. He now lives in Austria and did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In December 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin placed Rolf under temporary state management, a move the Kremlin said was driven solely by "economic expediency and compliance with current legislation".

Petrov in December called that seizure another blow to Russia's investment landscape and said state management may have been ordered "in the interests of one of the structures now trying to buy up (assets)".

The court said prosecutors had asked the court to hand over all shares, should they be seized fully, to the state.