Facts of manipulation in the market for units of Rental CUIF Key Business Model – Alfa established
The Bank of Russia has established facts of manipulation in the market for units of rental closed-end unit investment fund Key Business Model — Alfa (hereinafter, Units) on an organised trading venue in 2015.
Transactions qualified as Unit market manipulation were conducted in July 2015 by VIP Universal Ltd, a foreign company incorporated under the law of Seychelles, in collusion with a number of Russian legal entities subsequently liquidated. Following the applicable trading scheme, Russian companies regularly purchased Units from the sole counterparty VIP Universal Ltd. Thereby, they diverted money to its bank accounts outside the Russian Federation. The investigation revealed that the participants in the said scheme might have centralised decision-making. The actions of these entities caused a significant deviation in the volume of Unit trades.
The Unit market was also manipulated by GM Realt LLC and the affiliated management company Interfinance MC LLC which used funds of the Mixed CUIF Clean Energy and Real Estate CUIF Optimal (hereinafter, the Management Company).
The Bank of Russia has established that GM Realt LLC in collusion with the Management Company carried out Unit transactions from 13 August 2015 through 7 September 2015, which had a considerable effect on Unit prices. As a result of these transactions, GM Realt LLC purchased from the Management Company a significant block of Units at an artificially reduced price to the detriment of unit holders of unit investment funds managed by the Management Company.
The actions of VIP Universal Ltd and its counterparties, as well as of GM Realt LLC and Interfinance MC LLC are qualified as Unit market manipulation under Clause 2, Part 1, Article 5 of Federal Law No.
The Bank of Russia took administrative measures with respect to the persons engaged in market manipulation, aimed at preventing such violations in the future.
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