MOSCOW, January 1. /TASS/. The Central Bank of Russia now has the authority to restrict transactions by individual securities market and forex market participants and ban specific transactions for all traders for a period of up to six months, according to amendments to Russia’s Organized Trading Law that take effect today.

The financial regulator has the right to restrict transactions if the actions of traders and their clients, violations of the Organized Trading Law or Central Bank of Russia regulations would jeopardize financial market stability.

The Central Bank of Russia has also been granted the right to demand that the central counterparty change transaction payment and execution procedures mandated for a specific clearing participant as security for its obligations, if a situation occurs that could potentially threaten the stability of Russian financial markets.