DIA unable to obtain seizure of JSC Qiwi's shares as part of lawsuit against Qiwi Bank's owners

MOSCOW. April 2 (Interfax) - The Moscow Arbitration Court has ruled against the Deposit Insurance Agency (DIA) to seize JSC Qiwi's shares, which belong to Qiwi plc or Fusion Factor Fintech Limited, as an injunctive measure in the lawsuit against the owners of Qiwi Bank, an Interfax correspondent reported from the courtroom.

The Central Bank of Russia on February 21 revoked Qiwi Bank's license to conduct banking operations. Qiwi Bank is currently under temporary administration, with the DIA assigned its functions.

The DIA, on behalf of Qiwi Bank, filed a lawsuit against its owners on March 4, namely against JSC Qiwi, Hong Kong-based Fusion Factor Fintech Limited, and Qiwi. The DIA is seeking to challenge the sale and purchase agreement for JSC Qiwi's shares, and to invalidate the contract of pledge and encumbrance of the shares. The DIA later filed an appeal for injunctive measures, namely the seizure of JSC Qiwi's shares.

Qiwi Group in late January 2024 sold Russian assets consolidated under JSC Qiwi to Hong Kong-based Fusion Factor Fintech Limited, owned by former Qiwi plc CEO Andrei Protopopov. The deal totaled 23.75 billion rubles, and it includes Qiwi Bank, Qiwi Wallet, Qiwi business, Contact money transfer system, Rowi, Realweb, Flocktory, Taxiaggregator, IntellectMoney, and a number of other assets.

Qiwi Bank ranked 73rd at the end of 2023 in terms of assets totaling 77.6 billion rubles in the Interfax-100 ranking compiled by the experts at the Interfax Center for Economic Analysis.