On changes to the law on joint stock companies - commentary for MashNews

Large-scale amendments to corporate legislation were signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin on 8th of August. They are intended to settle contentious issues in the relationship between shareholders and companies, freeing businesses from formal and ineffective encumbrances.

The adopted Federal Law allows recognizing as "lost" shareholders who have not received letters and dividends sent to them for at least two years in a row. In this case, the company has the right to suspend sending correspondence and paying income. Upon receipt of up-to-date information (postal address and bank details), all shareholders' rights are restored, and accumulated dividends are paid. Experts generally support the introduced mechanism. Thus, according to Alena Ivanova, a Partner at the law firm GRATA International, the criteria for classifying shareholders as "lost" established by law do not cause rejection.

Remote holding of general meetings is legalized on a permanent basis. During the pandemic, this option was introduced as temporary.

The new law provides for the broadcasting of meetings for all shareholders entitled to participate in them. They will also be able to vote remotely. The procedure for identifying participants in the next three years will be determined by the companies themselves. From 1st of September, 2027, shareholders voting remotely are required to use an enhanced qualified electronic signature or a single biometric system. But joint-stock companies will retain the right to assign simpler tools in the charter or other internal document, including authorization through the unified portal of "Gosuslugi".

Alena Ivanova is convinced that manipulation of voting will be extremely difficult: "There may be failures in the transmission of information and other "minor technical problems" that are encountered today, in particular, by participants in electronic auctions. But for some private shareholders, especially those of advanced age, obtaining and using an electronic signature may be a problem.

The full text of the article is available at the link: https://mashnews.ru/minoritarnoe-molchanie-sekonomit-..