OREANDA-NEWS. January 31, 2012. The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS Russia) received 263 petitions from foreign investors since No.57-FZ Federal Law “On the Procedures for Foreign Investments in the Business Entities of Strategic Importance for National Defence and State Security”. Of which 137 petitions were submitted for consideration of the Government Commission for Control over Foreign Investments in the Russian Federation. This statement was made by the Head of FAS Department for Control over Foreign Investments, Armen Khanyan, speaking at the II Competition Forum of Ukraine in Kyiv, reported the press-centre of FAS Russia.

Armen Khanyan informed the Forum participants that the Government Commissions granted preliminary approvals for 129 petitions and refused to issue approvals in 8 cases.

“There have been no incidents of appealing decisions made by the Russian Government in judicial procedures”, said Armen Khanyan.

According to Deputy Head of the FAS Department, majority of petitions, received by the Antimonopoly Service, concern primary approvals of transactions related to such areas and types of activities as subsurface sites of federal status, cryptography, national monopolies, television and radio broadcasting, etc.

Most often petitions under No.57-FZ Federal Law are filed by companies registered in Russia, Cyprus, the UK and the Netherlands.

Deputy Head of the FAS Department also informed the Forum participants about changes that were introduced to the law in 2011. For instance, the list of strategic activities specified in No.57-FZ Federal Law is reduced. Transactions between international financial organizations, a party to which is the Russian Federation, and transactions between organizations controlled by Russia or Russian citizens are excluded from the relations regulated by No.57-FZ Federal Law. The amendments also increased the threshold for control over subsurface users from 10 to 25%. At the same time changes are introduced to the Code on Administrative Violations: large fines for failure to file petitions, notifications, information (data) to FAS Russia.

“The issues of enforcement and improving the law are the subject of public discussion upon the results of which proposals for amendments to the existing law are made”, said Armen Khanyan.