Moscow Stock Exchange Explores Legal Strategies to Counter U.S. and U.K.

The Moscow Stock Exchange (MOEX) is actively discussing legal avenues to challenge sanctions imposed by the United States and Britain, which have significantly impacted its operations.

These sanctions, implemented in mid-June 2024, led to a halt in the exchange trading of dollars and euros and a freeze on foreign assets traded on the exchange.

Legal Defense Against Sanctions:

MOEX’s lobby group, the Investors’ Rights Protection Club, announced that lawyers had briefed its members on potential “legal defense strategies” to contest the sanctions targeting the MOEX group.

This move underscores MOEX’s determination to mitigate the adverse effects of these restrictions on its trading activities and investor access.

Impact of Sanctions on Moscow Stock Exchange:

The sanctions from the United States and Britain followed earlier actions by the European Union, which in March 2022 imposed sanctions on MOEX’s depository, the National Settlement Depository (NRD).

The EU sanctions resulted in a freeze of European assets traded on MOEX, further complicating the exchange’s ability to provide global financial assets to Russian and foreign investors.

MOEX’s Strategic Response:

In recent years, MOEX has expanded its offerings to include a broader range of global financial assets, aiming to diversify away from Russia’s energy-centric equity market.

The exchange’s current efforts to challenge these sanctions reflect its ongoing commitment to maintaining and enhancing its role as a key financial platform for domestic and international investors.