Investors sued the Bank of Russia due to actions after the start of the SVO

A lawsuit was brought against the Central Bank by investors concerning the trading process on the Moscow Exchange on the day the SVO was launched.

On February 24, 2022, the Russian stock market experienced a record decline in its entire history.

On February 24, 2022, 16 investors filed a class action lawsuit against the Bank of Russia regarding the trading practices conducted on the Moscow Exchange during the morning session.

RBC reports that the Moscow Exchange and its member National Clearing Center (NCC) were involved as third parties in the case.

The plaintiffs are requesting that the Central Bank's orders to cease trading on the Moscow Exchange at 07:52 Moscow time on February 24, 2022 and to resume trading on the same day at 09:50 Moscow time be annulled.

A group of investors has accused the Bank of Russia of "inaction" which they deem to be illegal. A preliminary hearing is set for November 27 to determine the validity of the claim.

At 07:00 Moscow time, the Moscow Exchange opened for trading as usual on the day of the start of the SVO. However, trading was halted on all markets at 07:52 due to a sudden 11% stock market collapse. When trading resumed at 09:50, the decline only worsened.

On February 28, the Bank of Russia imposed a ban on short sales on the exchange and over-the-counter markets of the Russian Federation, which took effect at 11:00. This caused trading to be suspended until almost a month later, due to the market collapse.

On February 24th, the Russian stock market experienced its most severe losses in history - 33.3% for the Moscow Exchange index and 39.4% for the RTS dollar index. This resulted in the prices of most blue chips dropping by nearly half in a single day.