Head of FBK Legal's Corporate Practice on "off-set" transactions

Alexander Ermolenko, Head of FBK Legal’s Corporate Practice in his interview to Izvestiya newspaper commented upon amendments prepared by the Ministry for Economic Development for 94 Federal Law, under which the Russian governmental clients will be able to put counter claims against foreign suppliers who won the bidding. “Off-set” transactions are concerned: we purchase from you some goods and receive, say, new technologies extra. “Our country is interested in off-set transactions from the point of attracting modern civil technologies to modernize existing productions and establish new ones”, the expert said. However it should not be limited to simple purchase of technologies: “It’s important to set up production: to build plants, to find professionals who will be working there. And this is a problem in Russia. It’s convenient to raise statutory funds, however nobody wants to implement technologies really. If the situation does not change, there will be no use in off-set transactions”, Ermolenko summed up.