The ninth annual business forum of Legal Forum Russia was held in Moscow on April 3rd and 4th and continued in London on April 5th. The Forum brought together leading businessmen and members of the legal community in order to discuss matters of law which affect business development. Oracle Capital Group’s Head of Trust and Fiduciary Services, Ms. Svetlana Ryabokon participated in the Forum in Moscow.
The Forum covered many legal topics affecting the Russian business community. Discussions on April 3rd included the topics of business ownership succession, the enforcement of the law on transfer pricing, advocacy for the change of Russian jurisdiction, the Cyprus crisis, the business model for a law firm and practices and competences developed by legal departments in 2013.
Ms. Ryabokon represented Oracle Capital Group in the discussion concerning Business Succession in Russia. The issue of Business Succession has become more prominent in the last few years. This change is due to the history of the former USSR – with the ban of private ownership during the Soviet era, business succession and inheritance issues were not salient in Russian legal and business structures. But since the opening of the free markets in the early 90s many Russians have had business success and managed to accumulate wealth and property and now this first generation of capitalists and business owners have recently had to face the new challenge of planning and structuring the transfer of their businesses and assets.
Ms. Ryabokon noted during the Forum that the Russian Law of Succession has not been prioritized. Ms. Ryabokon also spoke on several specific issues. She pointed out that one of the main obstacles to the idea of Succession in Russia is overcoming old beliefs and mentalities – that older Russian businesses and families simply didn’t believe in or understand the ideas of trust structures, whereas these are standard practice in Western economies.
Ms. Ryabokon also spoke on the difference between structuring of assets in trust for the transfer to family and the structuring of businesses for transfer through trusts or private family foundations. Also noted were the necessity of Russian lawyers for the structuring of Russian business inheritance and the differences between the Russian and Western lawyers in this regard. She stated that in order to minimize risk to a client, there is a proper way to choose and assign trustees. Especially when working in different jurisdictions, she said, using corporate independent trustees is a standard and more convenient practice.
The Legal Forum continued on April 4 in Moscow and on Friday April 5 in London. Topics include Piercing the corporate veil, Intellectual property rights, international commercial arbitration, the new Civil Code in Russia, and aspects of the British legal practice that can be adopted in Russia.
