Equity threshold: US companies want to withdraw dividends from Russia before Ukraine settlement

American business already wants to achieve the complete withdrawal abroad of its dividend profits accumulated on Russian special accounts, Robert Agee, the head of AmCham, told Izvestia. In his opinion, this issue will be one of the key issues in the negotiations between Russia and the United States on economic cooperation. Which, however, have so far stalled. AmCham expects that the American authorities, for their part, will lift the ban on investments in Russia, but recognize that this is possible only after the settlement in Ukraine. Whether easing in the field of economic cooperation can be agreed upon before reaching a political peace agreement is discussed in the Izvestia article.

Will foreign companies receive dividend payments

In a dialogue with the Russian authorities, American companies consider the issue of resolving the situation with the withdrawal of their dividends from type C accounts to be a priority, the American Chamber of Commerce in the Russian Federation (AmCham) explained to Izvestia. They expect that this may happen even before reaching firm political agreements to resolve the Ukrainian crisis.

According to the results of an AmCham survey among American companies, 67% of respondents were unable to coordinate these transactions with Russian regulators after 2022. Despite the fact that most of the respondents are co—owners of enterprises that remain in the Russian Federation, pay taxes, produce products and retain jobs. The business association could not name specific amounts: information about the amounts of funds transferred to type "C" accounts is a commercial secret.

— On behalf of our members, we convey concern about this situation to the Russian authorities and are open to dialogue so that this situation can change for the better now in relation to foreign businesses remaining on the Russian market. We also believe that the issue of paying dividends will be one of the key issues in the negotiations between Russia and the United States on economic cooperation," AmCham CEO Robert Agee told Izvestia.

Recall that Russia introduced a strict procedure for settlements with investors from unfriendly countries in response to Western sanctions. Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 95 dated March 5, 2022 established that obligations to them (creditors, owners of shares and bonds of Russian enterprises), including payment of dividends, in the amount of more than 10 million rubles per month are fulfilled in rubles through accounts of type "C". You can withdraw money from them only with the consent of the management Board.

These funds are not withdrawn, frozen, or dead weight. They can be used to pay taxes, and they can be invested in some Russian securities. And in December 2023, the authorities allowed foreigners to use the rubles accumulated in C accounts to buy back blocked foreign shares from Russians. In case of failure of the transaction, the money is simply returned back to the special account.

Izvestia sent a request to the Central Bank regarding whether there is a dialogue between the parties on the issue of withdrawing funds from accounts of type "C".

If we assume that Russia will soften the issue of dividends, retaliatory measures are likely to be targeted, says Sergei Tolkachev, a professor at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation. According to him, in return, the United States can weaken or lift some of the personal sanctions, remove control over the withdrawal of capital of Russian individuals to accounts in American banks. However, the United States will not do more without full clarity on the Ukrainian issue and a consolidated decision by the West.

First of all, this concerns the lifting of the ban on investments in Russia, although it is he who causes the greatest concern to American business.

— Because of him, American companies continue to lose profits, market share and brand value. They cannot finance business expansion and are losing out to competitors from other countries," Agee said. — Based on the interests of American business, we are confident that immediately after the conclusion of the peace agreement on Ukraine, this ban will be lifted, because it damages primarily American, not Russian companies.

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What is the current situation with the economic dialogue between Russia and the United States

Washington is actively sending political signals of readiness to unfreeze economic cooperation. In a conversation with Vladimir Putin on July 4, Donald Trump noted "tremendous prospects" for cooperation with Russia, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said. However, Trump has been repeating this since the first days of his second term. As early as February 2025, a month after his inauguration, he wrote in Truth Social that the United States was negotiating "major economic development deals" with Russia.

In February 2026, Moscow and Washington agreed to establish a bilateral working group on economic issues, which is a separate negotiating track from the political one. On the Russian side, it was headed by Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund and Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation, and on the American side by his counterpart Steve Witkoff. The group's agenda is quite substantive: possible deals in the Arctic, cooperation in the oil and gas sector, rare earth metals, restoration of direct flights, and others.

However, it does not come to concrete decisions — the only notable step was the decision on the Sakhalin-1 project. In August 2025, on the eve of the summit with Trump in Alaska, Vladimir Putin signed a decree that created the conditions for the possible return of ExxonMobil to the project, from which the company withdrew in 2022. At the same time, Exxon CEO Darren Woods clarified in an interview with FT that we are talking about asset recovery of $ 4.6 billion, and not about new investments. Predictions that others will follow Exxon have not yet come true.: Back in February 2025, Dmitriev told Reuters that he expected American companies to return in the second quarter, but this did not happen, and US sanctions were extended for another year.

One way or another, economic breakthroughs are closely linked to the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict, which is openly discussed in the White House. Additionally, the crisis in Iran has slowed down the already slow dialogue in this area. Whitkoff still remains the US president's special envoy for the Middle East.

Therefore, while the preparation of cooperation is raging, except at the business level. AmCham told Izvestia that the interest of American companies remains at the level of "cautious optimism." The brands that have passed away are extended through Rospatent trademark rights. According to the head of the business association, Robert Agee, several of them are ready to return at the first opportunity. The American Chamber of Commerce in Russia now has an "advisory department" dealing with inquiries from foreign companies about a potential return to the market.

The dialogue cannot be called completely frozen. Even with tougher sanctions and a stalling political settlement, Moscow and Washington have a lot to discuss. Americans need Russian titanium for the aircraft industry, and they are interested in joint projects in the field of minerals in Siberia and the Far East, as well as nuclear energy, where domestic technologies remain among the most advanced in the world. The parties are already testing the ground for future agreements, but major steps — the return of American investors, the unblocking of dividends — will apparently remain postponed until a peaceful settlement.