Intra-group loans with a Russian subsidiary: granting, repaying and the permit line
Money flowing into a Russian company from its foreign parent is largely free; money flowing out is where the decrees bite. The direction of the loan decides the rule.
Lending out of Russia
A Russian resident — company or individual — may not grant a foreign-currency loan to any non-resident, friendly or unfriendly, without a permit (card 4.1). The prohibition dates from Decree No. 79 and has been in force since 2 March 2022; a general permit for loans to friendly non-residents that the sub-commission issued in June 2023 has since lapsed (card 4.2). The one standing exception is narrow: an individual may lend foreign currency to a company they control and have disclosed as a CFC, to maintain property abroad, up to the amount of the previous year's financing (card 4.3).
Rouble loans follow the friendliness line. A rouble loan to a person of a friendly state is free (card 5.2); to a person of an unfriendly state it needs a permit under Decree No. 81 (card 5.1), unless the borrower is controlled by Russian persons with disclosed control, or by friendly persons with control established before 1 March 2022 (card 5.5). A rouble loan to a Russian company controlled by unfriendly persons is permitted (card 5.3) — the borrower is a resident, and the rule looks at the borrower's residency, not its shareholders. Convertible loans under the LLC law are treated as a route to acquiring a participation interest and need a permit (card 5.4).
Lending into Russia
A foreign parent lending to its Russian subsidiary is not restricted by the counter-sanctions decrees. The constraints are on the Western side — EU and US rules on financing Russian entities — and on the Russian subsidiary's ability to pay it back, which is the next section. Capital contributions by a foreign shareholder into a Russian company are likewise free of counter-sanctions restrictions, though the corporate act of increasing the charter capital with an unfriendly participant requires a sub-commission permit under Government Resolution No. 295.
Repaying a foreign lender
Repayment by a Russian borrower to an unfriendly lender falls under Decree No. 95: up to RUB 10 million per month may be paid normally (card 6.8), above that only into a type C account (card 6.9) or under a permit. Interest and principal count together, and together with any dividends to the same creditor. A lender controlled by Russian persons with disclosed control, or by friendly persons under pre-March-2022 control, is paid normally (card 6.10). Repayment to a friendly lender is unrestricted on the Russian side.
Repayment in the other direction — a foreign borrower repaying a Russian lender — is free of counter-sanctions restriction as to the obligation itself (card 6.1), and Decree No. 529 lets a Russian company receive the repayment in roubles or foreign currency to an account in Russia (card 6.2), to an account abroad (card 6.3) or in cash (card 6.4). An individual lender may be repaid to a foreign account or to an electronic wallet, but the funds must then be repatriated to a Russian bank (cards 6.6 and 6.7), and cash repayment to an individual is prohibited (card 6.5).
Set-off and novation
Group treasurers' first instinct — net the loan against a dividend or a trade payable — works within the cap and needs a permit above it. Decree No. 529 allows set-off and novation in foreign-trade settlements generally (card 10.1), and Clarification No. 1-OR of 22 March 2024 confirms that obligations to unfriendly creditors may be discharged by set-off, compensation or novation up to RUB 10 million per month (card 10.3) and only with a permit beyond that (card 10.2). Since October 2024 a dividend obligation may be set off against a claim on the shareholder where a Bank of Russia or Government Commission permit covers it (card 10.4).
Capital contributions to foreign companies
Closely related, and often confused with lending: a Russian resident paying for shares or making a contribution to the capital of a foreign company needs a permit under Decree No. 126 (card 7.1), a requirement extended by decree each December and currently in force until 31 December 2026. The Bank of Russia's Working Group grants a general permit for smaller amounts: from 1 July 2026, under Decision No. PRG-43-11/1199, payments up to the equivalent of RUB 30 million per foreign company — in roubles or foreign currency, counted cumulatively since 1 April 2024 — need no individual permit (card 7.6); the previous limit was RUB 15 million. Contributions in roubles or a friendly currency to a friendly-state company up to RUB 10 million have been permitted since April 2022 (card 7.3). Above the general limit, the application goes to the Bank of Russia, not the Government Commission.
Three questions before any intra-group transfer
- Which way does the money flow — out of Russia (restricted) or into Russia (restricted only by Western rules)?
- Is the counterparty unfriendly, and is a control exception available and disclosed?
- If the payment is to an unfriendly creditor: what else has been paid to it this month, and is the aggregate still under RUB 10 million?