The Ministry of Natural Resources has eliminated the restriction on the payment of dividends from the bill that toughens the liability of industrial enterprises for damage to nature, writes RBC with reference to the new version of the bill. Earlier, the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) suggested doing this.
Also removed the provision on the priority to eliminate environmental harm over any other payments in bankruptcy, including over employee severance payments. Thus, the authorities have decided not to punish companies for harm to nature yet.
At the end of February, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Victoria Abramchenko instructed to develop a mechanism to limit dividends for cases when business does not eliminate environmental damage. It was assumed that such a plan should have been developed by March 1. Abramchenkko noted that the owner of an industrial facility must bear “the burden of maintaining his property until the very end.”
Earlier, the Yenisei department of Rosprirodnadzor filed a claim against the Norilsk Nickel company for damages in the amount of 12.5 million rubles for wastewater discharge. The plaintiff notes that the results of the samples showed the content of pollutants in the wastewater, which led to soil pollution.