Vladimir Putin has made it harder for western companies to exit Russia in an effort to prop up the struggling rouble.

Companies wanting to sell their Russian assets will either have to agree to make the sale in roubles or, if they want to do so in dollars or euros, face delays or losses on the amounts transferred abroad, according to the Financial Times.

It comes as Moscow grapples with a 20pc fall in the value of the rouble since the start of the year.

It passed 100 to the dollar in August, forcing the Kremlin to impose capital controls on exporters, requiring them to quickly convert the proceeds of sales into the Russian currency.

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