Annual income for qualified status in Russia will be 12 million rubles - Mamuta

MOSCOW. May 16 (Interfax) - The Central Bank of Russia has decided to set the minimum annual income threshold for obtaining the status of a qualified investor at 12 million rubles, Mikhail Mamuta, Head of the Service for the Protection for Consumer Rights and Ensuring the Availability of Financial Services, said.

In March, the regulator published a draft instruction with new criteria for qualified investors. The document, in particular, assumed the possibility of obtaining this status with an average income over the past two years of at least 20 million rubles, excluding funds from the sale of real estate. In combination with an educational criterion, an academic degree, or by passing a complex test, the annual income threshold was proposed to be set at 6 million rubles.

The Russian National Association of Securities Market Participants (NAUFOR) does not support the amount of annual income proposed by the regulator. According to comments on the draft directive sent to the Central Bank at the end of March, the association advocated a bar of 6 million rubles and its reduction to 3 million rubles when combined with educational criteria, scientific degree or confirmation of knowledge.

In a subsequent interview with Interfax, Mamuta said that the Central Bank was discussing with market participants a reduction in the bar from 20 million rubles and was targeting a level of 12 million rubles.

"Yes, we have reduced it to 12 million rubles," Mamuta told reporters on the sidelines of the NAUFOR Russian Stock Market 2025 conference.