Tinkoff Investments, BCS ask Belgium, Luxembourg for licenses to unfreeze client assets
MOSCOW. Dec 2 (Interfax) - Tinkoff Investments and BCS World of Investments have notified their clients that they have asked the finance ministries of Belgium and Luxembourg for licenses to unfreeze their clients' assets.
The licenses had to be requested by January 7, 2023, by which time the European Unnion plans to conclude settlements with frozen assets.
Tinkoff Investments said in a statement that a license from the Belgian Finance Ministry would make it possible to transfer assets from Russia's National Settlement Depository (NSD), which is subject to sanctions, to other safe depositories.
A request has been submitted to unfreeze all assets, including securities and money received by Euroclear in the form of dividends, coupons and payments on redeemed bonds, of clients who are not subject to EU sanctions and U.S. blocking sanctions.
The company said it believes it has a strong chance of receiving the license, since it meets all the criteria set by the European regulator.
BCS World of Investments has sent a single application to unfreeze client assets to the authorities of Belgium and Luxembourg to allow investors to lift restrictions on their ability to dispose of assets kept at the Euroclear and Clearstream depositories.
BCS engaged external consultants, including European lawyers, to draw up the documents, which should increase its chances of securing an affirmative decision from the European regulators. The documents cover the frozen assets of all clients, except those who declined to participate in the collective application.
The company said collective applications are more effective, since it is expected that they will be taken under review on a priority basis relative to individual ones.
The advisors of the Investor Protection Club, which includes 142 investment and financial services companies, recommended that club members file applications for licenses with the regulators of countries where assets are frozen by January 7, 2023. Otherwise, they might lose the right to unfreeze assets.