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Putin signs law allowing banks to sell gold bars to citizens for currency

The measure will be in effect until December 31, 2022

MOSCOW, March 14. /TASS/. Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has signed a law allowing the authorized banks to sell gold bars to individuals for currency. The document has been published at the website of official legal information.

The law also simplifies the repurchase of own shares by joint-stock companies.

The threshold for participation in the capital of a joint-stock company, which gives the right to receive documents of the company, to challenge the company's transactions in court, as well as the actions of the company or a member of its board of directors, has been raised from 1% to 5%.

According to an explanatory note prepared for the consideration of the document in parliament, this is done "in order to exclude the legal grounds for a possible destabilization of the activities of Russian joint-stock companies during a crisis period through the abuse of shareholder rights, including by foreign shareholders."

This measure will be in effect until December 31, 2022.

Russian insurers are prohibited from entering into transactions with foreign insurers, reinsurers and insurance brokers from unfriendly countries. This ban also applies to the transfer of funds by Russian insurers under contracts concluded before the date the new law comes into effect. In exceptional cases, transfers to foreign reinsurers, insurance brokers from unfriendly countries are possible on the basis of a permit issued by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.

The Board of Directors of the Bank of Russia has been authorized to determine the list of information banks have the right not to disclose to the general public, even if such disclosure is required by virtue of the current regulation. However, such information in any case will have to be sent to the Bank of Russia. Similarly, the Board of Directors of the regulator will have the right not to disclose such information to the general public on its website on the Internet.