Ozon forms new subsidiary, Ekom Bank, after other bank hit by U.S. sanctions

MOSCOW. March 16 (Interfax) - Ozon , the marketplace whose first attempt to create a financial business unexpectedly came up against sanctions against the previous owner of the bank that was purchased for this purpose, has decided to make second attempt from scratch.

The Bank of Russia on March 11 registered a new credit institution, Ekom Bank with charter capital of 3.6 billion rubles, according to information on the regulator's website.

The bank received a universal license from the Central Bank to carry out banking operations with funds in rubles and foreign currency with the right to attract funds from individuals for deposits. The Deposit Insurance Agency said on Wednesday that it had included Ekom Bank in the register of banks participating in the mandatory deposit insurance system.

According to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, the new bank is owned by Internet Logistics LLC, whose ultimate beneficiary is Ozon Holdings. Andrei Lichmanov, who is also listed as the head of Ozon Bank, is named as chief executive of Ekom Bank.

The United States at the end of February added Ozon's subsidiary bank to the SDN List, linking it to its former shareholder, Sovcombank, which was also sanctioned. Ozon said it would ask the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control to remove the subsidiary from the SDN List.

Ozon bought the bank from Sovcombank in May last year for 615 million rubles.