MOSCOW, April 2. /TASS/. The Moscow Arbitration Court did not satisfy the request of the temporary administration of Qiwi Bank represented by the Deposit Insurance Agency (DIA) to seize shares of Qiwi JSC, owned by Qiwi plc or Fusion Factor Fintech Limited, a TASS correspondent reported from the courtroom.
"We have decided to refuse the application of Qiwi Bank JSC, represented by the temporary administration of the DIA Group of Companies, to take interim measures," the judge said.
On March 4, it became known that the temporary administration of the Qiwi Bank, represented by DIA, asked the Moscow Arbitration Court to take a number of interim measures against the bank. In particular, DIA asked to seize all shares of Qiwi JSC owned by Qiwi plc or Fusion Factor Fintech Limited, prohibit the management bodies of Qiwi JSC from making decisions on the payment of dividends, distribution of profits and losses, payment of remuneration, as well as taking actions aimed at withdrawing funds and other property from JSC Qiwi.
As the press service of DIA told TASS, the interim measures were declared "in support of the claim to invalidate the share purchase and sale agreement."
DIA is challenging the purchase and sale agreement for shares of JSC Qiwi and the agreement of pledge and encumbrance in relation to these shares.
Purchase and sale of shares of JSC Qiwi
On January 19, 2024, Qiwi completed business restructuring. The group sold its Russian assets to Hong Kong-based Fusion Factor Fintech Limited, owned by former Qiwi plc chief executive officer Andrey Protopopov.
Qiwi Bank, Qiwi Wallet, Qiwi Business, Contact money transfer system and other projects remain in the Russian circle. The transaction amount is 23.75 billion rubles ($258 mln). Payments under the transaction involved installments, payment was to be made over the next four years. It was assumed that exactly half of the amount - 11.875 billion rubles ($129 mln) - would be paid within four months from the date of the deal. The other half, divided into four equal shares, will be paid starting from the fourth quarter of 2024. Qiwi planned to use the funds received from the transaction to develop international business and repurchase American depositary shares from the Nasdaq and the Moscow Exchange.
License revocation
The Bank of Russia revoked the banking license of Qiwi Bank on February 21. In its decision to revoke the license, the regulator cited high-risk transactions aimed at facilitating settlements between individuals and shadow businesses, including the transfer of funds to crypto exchanges, illegal online casinos, bookmakers, etc., as well as looking for new ways to circumvent the restrictions imposed by the regulator. The regulator stated that it had recorded cases of opening "Qiwi wallets" using the personal data of citizens without their knowledge.
After the license was revoked, the Bank of Russia appointed the DIA as a temporary administration to the bank.
On February 26, the Qiwi group doubted the availability of funds from Russian businesses after the liquidation of Qiwi Bank as well as fulfillment of obligations under the purchase and sale agreement in accordance with the agreed terms.