We provide services to foreign businesses in Russia and Russian businessmen abroad

Our team specializes in foreign trade transactions since 2015. Our competence is confirmed by our leading positions in the prestigious rating PRAVO-300 since 2017 (since 2023 – under the MAGENTA Legal brand), including twice in the most practice group Foreign Economic Activity (International Transactions). Practice head and Managing Partner Anton Shamatonov has once again been recognised by PRAVO-300 as a Recommended Lawyer for international transactions and was included in the 1st Group of rating in the International Projects category by the Russian Gazette in 2024.

Processing of international transactions

> 10

years of experience in international transactions

> 120

successful transactions for our clients on average per year

> 27,5

RUB billion in project value in the last 3 years

Check out our latest news

May 22, 2025

Ratings: Kommersant

The season of legal ratings for 2024 is over. After Rossiyskaya Gazeta and Pravo-300, we are pleased to announce that our company has also been recognised by Kommersant.

Feb 28, 2025

Special regulation: transactions with foreigners. Update 2025

Traditionally, we update our guide on special regulation.There have been changes over the past 3 months

Feb 6, 2025

Force majeure. Certificates of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation as verification

Earthquakes, floods, fires and other forms of force majeure have always posed a risk to business. However, businesspeople have generally not considered the likelihood of such events to be high, so force majeure clauses have often been either absent from contracts or kept as general as possible. In recent years, however, the risks of force majeure have increased significantly – for example, the imposition of a nationwide quarantine is no longer a pipe dream, nor is the occurrence of other circumstances or the imposition of other measures that affect the largest possible group of people.

Jan 15, 2025

Ratings of law firms: MAGENTA Legal among the leaders

Last week the results of two legal ratings were published: first, Russian Gazette published the rating of the best lawyers and their firms, and a little later the award ceremony of the prestigious PRAVO-300 rating, which celebrated its 15th anniversary, took place. As a renewed brand, MAGENTA Legal took part in the rating for the first time – and was recognised in all 4 nominations of the federal ratings.

Jan 14, 2025

The Managing Partner of MAGENTA Legal Anton Shamatonov has received the first rating for international projects of Russian Gazette' rating

The Russian Gazette has published the results of its second annual large-scale survey, the “Rating of Lawyers and Their Firms”. Inclusion in this ranking is a mark of recognition of the professional quality and reputation of a specialist.

Dec 17, 2024

Updating the guide to special transaction regulation in Russia. Presentation

We are pleased to announce another update of our guide and presentation on the peculiarities of special regulation of transactions in Russia in connection with the sanctions regime. In recent months, significant changes have been introduced to the legislation concerning the rules for the sale of stakes in LLCs and shares in JSCs, as well as mandatory payments to the budget for transactions with foreign participation.

Nov 24, 2024

Payments from Germany to Russia. Which banks are active?

Since October 2024, the number of banks processing payments in euros (and not only) to Russia has again decreased. Gazprombank and its subsidiaries are now also on the US sanctions lists.

Aug 30, 2024

Theoretical provisions on certain methods of securing fulfilment of obligations in the private law of Russia and Germany

Konstantin Zakharenko (Master of Laws, lawyer at MAGENTA Legal) has published an article in the scientific-practical journal “Modern Law”, which has been published since 2000 and is included in the list of the Supreme Attestation Commission. The article is devoted to the problem of determining the role, functions, procedure of application and legal nature of methods of ensuring the fulfilment of obligations in Russian and German private law.

Jul 5, 2024

Enforcement proceedings: How can foreign individuals and legal entities get their money from Russian debtors?

We would like to address the question of how foreign individuals and legal entities can recover their funds from Russian debtors.

May 24, 2024

Federal Tax Office vs. IKEA: Conclusions for transactions with foreign persons

The Arbitration Court of the Moscow Region recently decided to demand the return of 8 billion roubles from the Russian IKEA subsidiary. The reason for this is that the company concluded a transaction that, in the court's opinion, violates Russian “sanctions” (this special regulation in accordance with the decrees of the President of the Russian Federation has been in force since 2022). Even if the system used by IKEA (not without the help of lawyers, of course) does indeed appear to be illegal, the court's decision and the way it justifies it raises serious concerns.

We deal with international sale and purchase (supply) contracts, transportation contracts, service contracts and related transactions (loans, hedging, etc). We have successfully completed projects involving the import of complex and expensive manufacturing equipment in compliance with sanctions regulation, using international settlement systems, including cross-border assignments, set-offs, netting, etc. We have also successfully advised clients on exports to China, Hong Kong and European countries. Our team has undertaken a number of projects to organise the distribution of imported pharmaceuticals and medical devices from India, Pakistan, Germany and other EU countries.

Our international transactions and FEA services enable us to handle projects at every stage of the contract: transaction structuring, tax advice, currency regulation, aspects related to jurisdictional complexity, regulatory issues, EU and US sanctions regime and Russian anti-sanctions measures, disputes and negotiations, litigation and arbitration in such types of transactions. Our portfolio includes numerous successful cases in the field of international trade before Russian state commercial courts, foreign courts (EU, Cyprus) and international arbitration courts (Russia and EU) on disputes related to supply, distribution and transport contracts, etc.

Our clients operate in the following sectors:

Pharma (pharmaceutical distributors, importers, exporters and manufacturers)
Medical devices (manufacturers and importers, service companies)
Construction (property development)
Beverage production (non-alcoholic and alcoholic products)
Legal advice

We will provide you with comprehensive legal support in concluding contracts with foreign suppliers or buyers, in disputes with foreign counterparties, as well as in structuring international payments (including those without involvement of banks) in accordance with Russian and foreign regulations (regarding foreign exchange regulations and restrictive measures of the Russian Federation).

In large-scale projects with a foreign element we collaborate with a network of our reliable foreign partners – legal advisers and lawyers from the relevant jurisdictions (China, India, EU countries, USA, etc).

In the context of sanctions international transactions with foreign counterparties are subject to a new procedure and require compliance with additional requirements, including not only customs and foreign exchange regulations, but also presidential decrees, sanctions measures and other regulatory restrictions. Therefore there is often a need for a qualified legal advice from specialists who are familiar with the actual practice of concluding such transactions.

The most common problem for Russia is, for example, payments in foreign currency. There are restrictions on the amount of payments, the type of transactions and the banks through which payments can be processed. We have already described in detail how payments to Russia and abroad work in a previous article.

In the field of trade and contract law, an increasing number of Russian entrepreneurs are exploring opportunities in Eastern markets in response to Western sanctions. For instance, conducting business with China has become increasingly prevalent, and we have a proven track record of facilitating successful business operations in this region.

The professionalism and expertise of MAGENTA Legal are recognized by leading Russian legal rankings.

The firm has been repeatedly recognized by the federal Pravo-300 ranking and the Kommersant ranking for its work in foreign economic activity, customs law and currency regulation. In 2019, 2020 and 2021, the firm's respective practice was ranked in Groups 1–2 of Pravo-300, while its currency regulation practice was awarded Band 2 by Kommersant in 2025 and 2026.

Furthermore, MAGENTA Legal's expertise in advising on international projects has been recognized by the Rossiyskaya Gazeta ranking: the practice was ranked in Group 1 in 2024 and Group 2 in 2025.

If your company needs international support, please contact us at info@magenta.legal or fill out the form below.

If you would like to know more or need assistance, please contact us

Foreign economic activity (FEA) and international transactions