Before the first call

Every engagement is scoped to sit inside applicable U.S. sanctions law and export-control rules. Where general licenses authorize residual administrative steps — taxes, maintenance, local salaries, preservation or liquidation costs — we work inside that perimeter. We do not facilitate prohibited commercial activity. A written confirmation of the architecture is available on request. This site is not legal advice; qualified U.S. counsel should review the structure against the client’s facts.

Then the parent is the counterparty on a Russian contract, under Russian law. With Colibry, the parent’s engagement is with a New York resident, governed by New York law, paid in U.S. dollars, with disputes in New York County. In-country accounting, tax, director, payments, and representation are performed by our affiliated company. That operating responsibility in Russia is ours.

No. You contract with Colibry LLC, a New York entity, and pay in USD to a U.S. bank account. Statutory amounts due in Russia — tax, fees, leftover payroll — are paid in rubles by the affiliated company, from the entity’s own balance or, where that is gone, from the affiliate’s in-country funds. You reimburse those advances to Colibry LLC in dollars, in the United States. The parent never originates a wire to Russia.

No. Colibry LLC is an administrative and compliance advisory. We are not a law firm and do not create an attorney-client relationship. Engagements are governed by New York law. Disputes are heard in the courts of New York County.

No. We administer companies that still operate and companies that do not. Accounting, tax, director, representation before the FTS, ruble payments, and the books sit in the same New York architecture. Mothball and liquidation are for boards that have chosen a quiet or exit path.

Dormant does not mean exempt. A company that remains on EGRUL still owes filings, a director, an address, and responses to the FTS. Inaction usually raises the cost of any later wind-down. We handle both “keep it current” and “take it off the register.”

No. Every matter is SDN- and blocked-person screened before we start, and screening is repeated during the engagement. If the entity or a counterparty is listed later, we notify you immediately and stop or recast the work.

A first conversation is usually within one business day. After screening and a signed engagement letter, tax/corporate onboarding is typically 2–3 weeks; director and address activation 1–2 weeks; IT stand-up 2–4 weeks.

Rinat McLaren is Managing Partner (mandate design and the OFAC perimeter). Roman McLaren is Partner (execution, reporting cadence, and the IT mandate). Direct lines are on the contact page.

Yes. A substantial share of files arrives from U.S. or English counsel who need an in-country operator inside a New York contract. We can sit behind your letterhead in the reporting if the engagement letter says so.

No. We do not name clients, even as anonymized case studies, without written consent.

The engagement letter lists deliverables, the reporting rhythm, and the fee. If the FTS opens a field audit during a tax-only mandate, that is a new scope — we do not bury it in a surprise invoice, and we do not pretend it was included.

No. A share sale to a Russian buyer, where it is even available, is a Government-Commission process with its own economics (discounts and contributions have been typical). That is M&A counsel’s file. We diagnose it, we administer the entity, or we liquidate it.

Often, year one. Not always, year three. The diagnostic is the paper that does the arithmetic: filing plus director plus bank versus a 6–24 month deletion and a likely FTS look-back.