Rostov Optical and Mechanical Plant (ROMZ)

History

2024: Nationalization

The Arbitration Court of the Volga-Vyatka District on May 29, 2024 confirmed the decision to nationalize PJSC Rostov Optical and Mechanical Plant (ROMZ), rejecting the complaint of the company's shareholders. The court recognized that the shares of the plant should be seized in favor of the state, the press service of the court reports.

The decision to nationalize was made by the Prosecutor General's Office back in September 2023. Then the Yaroslavl court decided to withdraw 14.6 million ordinary and 598 thousand preferred shares from Sibmir LLC, and 8.9 million ordinary shares from Isnov JSC. The court found that the privatization of the plant in 1993 was illegal, since it was carried out by regional authorities, while the plant belonged to the Russian Federation.

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The defendants appealed the decision, arguing that the statute of limitations had expired and that the inspection of the Prosecutor General's Office was carried out with violations. They also said the shares could not be considered a thing and were not subject to a vindication suit. However, the court rejected these arguments.

The Prosecutor General's Office insisted that the regional authorities of the Yaroslavl region did not have the authority to dispose of federal property. Moreover, the plant is of strategic importance for national security, and its presence in private hands could threaten the fulfillment of defense orders.

The Rostov Optical and Mechanical Plant is a key enterprise for the production of optical-mechanical and optical-electronic systems for fire control and armored vehicles, as well as thermal imagers for small arms. Main customers of the plant are the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and FSB. By May 2024, more than 800 people work at the plant, and it is included in the list of system-forming enterprises of the Yaroslavl region. In 2022, the plant signed a contract with the Ministry of Defense in the amount of 1.5 billion rubles, which emphasizes the importance of the enterprise to ensure the country's defense capability.^[1]

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