The Bank of Russia has identified instances of market manipulation in on-exchange trading at Moscow Exchange and PJSC SPB Exchange involving 19 issues of corporate high-yield bonds over the period from December 12, 2018, to April 13, 2023. The issuance of these bonds was organized by Limited Liability Company UniService Capital (LLC USC).
According to the investigation, LLC USC's CEO A. V. Antipin, along with employees A. A. Melekhov and I. A. Rozhkov, managed brokerage accounts for several individuals and legal entities using LLC USC’s IT infrastructure. They conducted reciprocal transactions between controlled accounts to create and maintain liquidity in the bond market, thereby facilitating LLC USC's role as an offering organizer and intermediary.
The investigation revealed that LLC USC and Antipin managed third parties’ brokerage accounts without legal grounds but with informal consent from account holders. Many of these reciprocal transactions caused significant deviations in demand, supply, price, and trading volume of the bonds, which qualifies as market manipulation under Federal Law No. 224-FZ.
Among the controlled accounts were those belonging to V. V. Piksaev and LLC UniMetriks, both previously subjected to administrative measures for similar market manipulation activities by the Bank of Russia.
As a result, LLC USC, Antipin, Piksaev are subject to administrative liability. The Bank of Russia issued binding orders to them as well as Melekhov, Rozhkov, and LLC UniMetriks to cease future violations and suspended transactions on their trading accounts.
Additionally, cross transactions conducted by M.A Akulshin in Ferroni LLC’s bond market aimed at transferring liquidity between his accounts have also been classified as market manipulation under Federal Law No. 224-FZ.
The Bank of Russia has ordered Akulshin to cease such activities and suspended his trading account transactions.
The regulatory body warns clients in the securities market about risks associated with allowing unlicensed persons access to manage their funds without a duly executed power of attorney.
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