McDonald’s Corp., Yum! Brands Inc. and International Business Machines Corp. are among companies that received warnings from Russian prosecutors threatening to arrest corporate leaders or seize assets for criticizing the government or withdrawing from the country, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.
Prosecutors called or visited a broad range of companies to deliver their warnings, including technology, food, banking and apparel firms, The Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Threats of lawsuits and the potential seizure of trademarks and other assets has prompted at least one targeted company to limit communications out of Russia with the rest of the firm, and others are seeking to move executives out of the country, the people told the newspaper.
McDonald’s declined to comment when reached by Bloomberg News on Sunday. Representatives for Yum and IBM couldn’t be immediately reached outside regular business hours.
The move by Russian prosecutors comes as the U.S. and other governments slapped the country with sanctions for the war being waged against Ukraine. Yum, McDonald’s and Apple Inc. are among corporate behemoths that temporarily halted operations or sales in Russia, citing reasons that ranged from opposition to the war to disrupted supply chains and potential repercussions caused by the sanctions and transacting business across the border.
Energy giants exited the country under pressure from their governments, severing decades-long relationships for pumping oil and natural gas that help drive the Russian economy.
