Sergei Bakeshin analysed for RBC how the investigation into the manipulation of SPB Exchange shares may develop
The Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case under part 2 of article 185.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for manipulation of trading in SPB Exchange shares. The case concerns a situation with a false bankruptcy petition of SPB Exchange, which in November 2023 led to a 35% collapse in the stock prices of the trading floor. Preliminary damage to investors is estimated at more than RUB 15 mn.
As Sergei Bakeshin, Head of Dispute Resolution and Insolvency practice at Maxima Legal, explained to RBC, it is difficult to talk about any sustainable practice of investigating such offences, much less assess its quality, due to the small number of such cases. “The practice of bringing to administrative responsibility for similar offences is much wider, but it too cannot be called mass,” he added. The expert suggested that in this case, the investigation may take place in a fairly short time, as the Central Bank has already conducted a check, established the presence of signs of an offence and collected certain evidence.
Sergei noted that in general, the affected investors can appeal to the court regardless of the outcome of the criminal case. If the proven damage is less than RUB 3.75 mn, the guilty parties will face only administrative liability. But even in this case, investors will be able to recover losses from the guilty parties within the framework of civil proceedings, and this is also possible if it turns out that the losses were caused not intentionally, but due to negligence, explained a specialist from Maxima Legal. “However, if the fact and amount of losses will not be established in the court verdict in a criminal case, it will be difficult to prove them in an ordinary civil dispute in this case”, – said Sergei Bakeshin.
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