Could New KASE Shareholders Also Face Sanctions?

On November 21, the Russian JSC Specialized Depository Infinitum was included in the latest US Treasury Department sanctions list, Orda.kz reports. Infinitum controls the mutual funds Levkoy and Nigella, which replaced the Moscow Exchange among the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE) shareholders.

The specialized depository Infinitum was among the Russian financial institutions under US sanctions.

Accordingly, organizations working with it bear the risk of secondary sanctions.

Nigella and Levkoy are closed-end mutual funds that split MOEX's KASE share. A few months after US sanctions hit MOEX, the two funds received 8.5% (Nigella) and 4.6% (Levkoy).

The National Settlement Depository website of the Russian Federation indicates that Nigella and Levkoy are listed as being serviced by JSC Specialized Depository Infinitum. The depository was registered in Moscow in 2000, and its beneficiary is businessman Pavel Prass, who, according to media reports, may be connected to Vladimir Putin’s inner circle.

Strictly speaking, the US sanctions extend only to Infinitum and not against specific mutual funds that the depository services. Formally, there are no direct risks for KASE from this decision.

Even after the Moscow Exchange fell under sanctions, several months passed before its departure as a KASE shareholder.

Original Auhtor: Nikita Drobny

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