Moscow Exchange plans to challenge US sanctions imposed against it. This was announced on August 19 at a meeting of the Investor Rights Protection Club.
The club, which now has 142 members, was founded by Moscow Exchange together with major Russian banks, brokers, and associations to protect investor rights after Euroclear and Clearstream, European depositories, suspended servicing accounts of the National Settlement Depository in March 2022. This deprived Russian and international investors of their ability to dispose of assets on the Moscow Stock Exchange.
According to the club’s statement, Step Forward law firm representative said that lines of defense are being developed to contest the sanctions against Moscow Exchange. It is also planned for Moscow Exchange to contact OFAC for an explanation of how general licenses are applied when unblocking assets.
On June 12, the Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC), which is a division of the U.S. Treasury responsible for sanction enforcement, added the Moscow Exchange, the National Clearing Center, and the National Settlement Depository, which are all part of its group, to its sanctions list. On June 13, the United Kingdom joined in with the U.K. sanctions.
