What's the back story? Who owns too much of Transneft (albeit non-voting) and why are they being hurt?
Trading in Transneft preferred shares suspended :
Trading in Transneft preferred shares suspended :
MOSCOW, May 5 (RIA Novosti) - Two major Moscow markets Friday suspended trading in preferred shares of state pipeline monopoly Transneft (RTS: TRNFP), following a Moscow district court decision to freeze the shares as part of a criminal investigation
Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange (MICEX) said it stopped trading the shares at 5:30 p.m. local time (1:30 p.m. GMT), while Russia's main stock market, the RTS, said it had interrupted trading in Transneft preferred shares until detailed information on the case was provided.
“We heard about the court's decision, but we have no documents confirming the news, which is why we have decided to suspend dealing until the circumstances are revealed,” an RTS spokesperson said.
Moscow's Basmanny district court ruled Friday to freeze shares in the pipeline monopoly after the Prosecutor General's Office launched a probe into illegal privatization of shares and abuse of office.
A court source said the shares had been illegally distributed among various companies and were later discovered at Registrator ROST, one of Russia's largest companies that services share registers.
MICEX announced earlier Friday it would continue trading in Transneft preferred shares until notice from the court or regulatory border.
“We can suspend trading after we receive the relevant documents from the court or recommendations from the regulatory body,” Vadim Yegorov said.
Ilya Zafakayev, head of Registrator ROST's PR service, said the company had suspended transactions in Transneft preferred shares.
The news that Transneft preferred shares have been frozen has already sent them 7-8% down on stock exchanges.
But Transneft vice President Sergei Grigoryev said the suspension of trading would not affect its activity, as the shares are preferred and not voting shares.
“These shares are held by individuals and are not voting [shares], and the company's management has nothing to do with them,” he said, adding that the state held 100% of voting shares.
[composed and posted with ecto]
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