ICLG

The International Comparative Legal Guide to: Fintech 2019

3rd Edition A practical cross-border insight into fintech law

Published by Global Legal Group, with contributions from:

A&L Goodbody Gilbert + Tobin QUORUS GmbH AEI Legal LLC Gleiss Lutz Schoenherr Anderson Mōri & Tomotsune Goldfarb Seligman & Co. Shearman & Sterling LLP Anjarwalla & Khanna Gorriceta Africa Cauton & Saavedra Shearn Delamore & Co. Appleby Gorrissen Federspiel Silk Legal Co., Ltd. BAHR GVZH Advocates Slaughter and May Bär & Karrer Hajji & Associés Stanford Law School BBA Hudson Gavin Martin The Blockchain Boutique BonelliErede Kim & Chang Traple Konarski Podrecki & Partners Bonn Steichen & Partners König Rebholz Zechberger Attorneys at Law Triay & Triay Bredin Prat Lee and Li, Attorneys-at-Law Trilegal De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek Llinks Law Offices Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie Democritos Aristidou LLC Lloreda Camacho & Co Uría Menéndez ENSafrica Mannheimer Swartling Uría Menéndez – Proença de Carvalho Erciyas Law Office Mattos Filho, Veiga Filho, Marrey Jr e Vodanovic Legal Evris Law Firm Quiroga Advogados Walalangi & Partners (in association FINREG PARTNERS McMillan LLP with Nishimura & Asahi) Galicia Abogados, S.C. PFR Attorneys-at-law Walkers Bermuda The International Comparative Legal Guide to: Fintech 2019

General Chapters:

1 Artificial Intelligence in Fintech – Rob Sumroy & Ben Kingsley, Slaughter and May 1

2 Cross-Border Financing of Fintech: A Comparison of Venture and Growth Fintech Financing Trends in Europe and the United States – Jonathan Cardenas, Stanford Law School 7

Contributing Editors Country Question and Answer Chapters: Rob Sumroy and Ben Kingsley, Slaughter and May 3 Australia Gilbert + Tobin: Peter Reeves 14

Publisher 4 Austria PFR Attorneys-at-law: Bernd Fletzberger 21 Rory Smith Sales Director 5 Bermuda Walkers Bermuda: Natalie Neto & Rachel Nightingale 26 Florjan Osmani 6 Brazil Mattos Filho, Veiga Filho, Marrey Jr e Quiroga Advogados: Account Director Larissa Lancha Alves de Oliveira Arruy & Fabio Ferreira Kujawski 31 Oliver Smith 7 Canada McMillan LLP: Pat Forgione & Anthony Pallotta 37 Senior Editors Caroline Collingwood 8 Cayman Islands Appleby: Peter Colegate & Anna-Lise Wisdom 44 Rachel Williams Sub Editor 9 China Llinks Law Offices: David Pan & Xun Yang 49 Amy Norton 10 Colombia Lloreda Camacho & Co: Santiago Gutierrez & Juan Sebastián Peredo 55 Group Consulting Editor Alan Falach 11 Cyprus Democritos Aristidou LLC: Christiana Aristidou 60 Published by 12 FINREG PARTNERS: Ondřej Mikula & Jan Šovar 67 Global Legal Group Ltd. 59 Tanner Street 13 Denmark Gorrissen Federspiel: Morten Nybom Bethe & Tue Goldschmieding 72 London SE1 3PL, UK Tel: +44 20 7367 0720 14 France Bredin Prat: Bena Mara & Vincent Langenbach 78 Fax: +44 20 7407 5255 Email: [email protected] 15 Germany Gleiss Lutz: Dr. Stefan Weidert & Dr. Martin Viciano Gofferje 85 URL: www.glgroup.co.uk 16 Gibraltar Triay & Triay: Javi Triay & Jay Gomez 91 GLG Cover Design F&F Studio Design 17 Hong Kong Slaughter and May: Benita Yu & Jason Webber 97

GLG Cover Image Source 18 Iceland BBA: Stefán Reykjalín & Baldvin Björn Haraldsson 105 iStockphoto Printed by 19 India Trilegal: Kosturi Ghosh & Adhunika Premkumar 112 Stephens & George 20 Indonesia Walalangi & Partners (in association with Nishimura & Asahi): Print Group May 2019 Luky I. Walalangi & Hans Adiputra Kurniawan 119

Copyright © 2019 21 Ireland A&L Goodbody: Claire Morrissey & Peter Walker 124 Global Legal Group Ltd. All rights reserved 22 Israel Goldfarb Seligman & Co.: Ariel Rosenberg & Sharon Gazit 134 No photocopying 23 BonelliErede: Federico Vezzani & Tommaso Faelli 140 ISBN 978-1-912509-70-6 ISSN 2399-9578 24 Japan Anderson Mōri & Tomotsune: Ken Kawai & Kei Sasaki 146

25 Kenya Anjarwalla & Khanna: Sonal Sejpal & Dominic Rebelo 152 Strategic Partners 26 Korea Kim & Chang: Jung Min Lee & Samuel Yim 157

27 Liechtenstein König Rebholz Zechberger Attorneys at Law: Dr. Helene Rebholz & MMag. Degenhard Angerer 164

28 Luxembourg Bonn Steichen & Partners: Pierre-Alexandre Degehet 169

29 Malaysia Shearn Delamore & Co.: Timothy Siaw & Christina Kow 174

PEFC Certified 30 Malta GVZH Advocates: Dr. Andrew J. Zammit & Dr. Kurt Hyzler 181

This product is from sustainably 31 Mexico Galicia Abogados, S.C.: Claudio Kurc & Arturo Portilla 186 managed forests and controlled sources

PEFC/16-33-254 www.pefc.org 32 Morocco Hajji & Associés: Nihma Elgachbour & Ayoub Berdai 192

33 Netherlands De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek: Björn Schep & Willem Röell 197

34 New Zealand Hudson Gavin Martin / The Blockchain Boutique: Andrew Dentice & Rachel Paris 204

Continued Overleaf

Further copies of this book and others in the series can be ordered from the publisher. Please call +44 20 7367 0720

Disclaimer This publication is for general information purposes only. It does not purport to provide comprehensive full legal or other advice. Global Legal Group Ltd. and the contributors accept no responsibility for losses that may arise from reliance upon information contained in this publication. This publication is intended to give an indication of legal issues upon which you may need advice. Full legal advice should be taken from a qualified professional when dealing with specific situations.

WWW.ICLG.COM The International Comparative Legal Guide to: Fintech 2019

Country Question and Answer Chapters:

35 Nigeria Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie: Yinka Edu & Tolulope Osindero 210

36 Norway BAHR: Markus Nilssen & Vanessa Kalvenes 216

37 Peru Vodanovic Legal: Ljubica Vodanovic & Alejandra Huachaca 223

38 Philippines Gorriceta Africa Cauton & Saavedra: Mark S. Gorriceta 229

39 Traple Konarski Podrecki & Partners: Jan Byrski, PhD, Habil. & Karol 234

40 Portugal Uría Menéndez – Proença de Carvalho: Pedro Ferreira Malaquias & Hélder Frias 242

41 Russia QUORUS GmbH: Maxim Mezentsev & Nikita Iovenko 250

42 Singapore AEI Legal LLC: Andrea Chee & Law Zhi Tian 258

43 Schoenherr: Jurij Lampič 265

44 South Africa ENSafrica: Angela Itzikowitz & Ina Meiring 271

45 Spain Uría Menéndez: Leticia López-Lapuente & Isabel Aguilar Alonso 278

46 Sweden Mannheimer Swartling: Anders Bergsten & Martin Pekkari 286

47 Switzerland Bär & Karrer: Dr. Daniel Flühmann & Dr. Peter Ch. Hsu 292

48 Taiwan Lee and Li, Attorneys-at-Law: Robin Chang & K. J. Li 300

49 Thailand Silk Legal Co., Ltd.: Dr. Jason Corbett & Don Sornumpol 306

50 Turkey Erciyas Law Office: Nihat Erciyas & Miraç Arda Erciyas 311

51 Evris Law Firm: Sergii Papernyk & Alexander Molotai 317

52 United Kingdom Slaughter and May: Rob Sumroy & Ben Kingsley 322

53 USA Shearman & Sterling LLP: Reena Agrawal Sahni & Eli Kozminsky 329

EDITORIAL

Welcome to the third edition of The International Comparative Legal Guide to: Fintech. This guide provides corporate counsel and international practitioners with a comprehensive worldwide legal analysis of the laws and regulations of fintech. It is divided into two main sections: Two general chapters. These chapters provide an overview of artificial intelligence in fintech, and of the recent trends and challenges in the financing of cross-border fintech start-ups. Country question and answer chapters. These provide a broad overview of common issues in fintech laws and regulations in 51 jurisdictions. All chapters are written by leading fintech lawyers and industry specialists and we are extremely grateful for their excellent contributions. Special thanks are reserved for the contributing editors Rob Sumroy and Ben Kingsley of Slaughter and May for their invaluable assistance. Global Legal Group hopes that you find this guide practical and interesting. The International Comparative Legal Guide series is also available online at www.iclg.com.

Alan Falach LL.M. Group Consulting Editor Global Legal Group [email protected] Chapter 41 Russia Maxim Mezentsev

QUORUS GmbH Nikita Iovenko

1 The Fintech Landscape ■ capital management (robo-advising, programs and applications on financial planning, social trading, algorithmic exchange trading, and special purpose savings, etc.). 1.1 Please describe the types of fintech businesses that are active in your jurisdiction and any notable fintech 1.2 Are there any types of fintech business that are at innovation trends of the past year within particular present prohibited or restricted in your jurisdiction sub-sectors (e.g. payments, asset management, peer- (for example cryptocurrency-based businesses)? to-peer lending or investment, insurance and blockchain applications). Due to the fact that fintech development has accelerated just over the last few years, there are many aspects that are still not regulated by The representatives of Russian business, as well as Russian state Russian law. This is why we are unable to state that some types of authorities, have recently been paying a lot of attention to the stable fintech business are prohibited. Of course, there are several general and rapid development of the fintech sector. Furthermore, at the limitations, related to anti-money laundering and terrorism financing. beginning of 2018, the Central Bank of Russia (hereinafter – the For example, according to the position of the Russian authorities, Central Bank) published a document stating the main directions of transactions related to cryptocurrency may be suspected as being used fintech development in Russia for the years 2018–2020. According for covering operations aimed at money laundering and terrorism to the position of the Central Bank, the following sectors deserve financing. For this particular reason, and due to the fact that the status primary attention: of cryptocurrency is not still defined in any legal acts, the authorities ■ big data and information analysis; warn citizens against their participation in such risky operations. ■ artificial intelligence; In Russia, it would be more correct to say that many types of fintech ■ robotisation; still remain unregulated (cryptocurrency, blockchain technology, ■ biometrics; crowdfunding, P2P crediting, etc.). Furthermore, according to the ■ distributed ledgers (as well as blockchain technology); and draft laws elaborated jointly by the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank, cryptocurrency or tokens will not be recognised as a ■ cloud technologies. lawful means of payment in Russia (will not be ranked pari passu Russia currently occupies one of the leading positions in the world with fiat currency – the rouble). with respect to the level of fintech involvement in people’s lives. As mentioned above, the position of the authorities allows us to state The most popular services are related to payments and money that the use of cryptocurrency as a legal means of payment for transfers, while the volume of such operations increased by 47% in ordinary goods will not be widely allowed (as far as we know, some the year 2016. Such a quick growth is caused by the development of countries have already allowed the use of cryptocurrency for banking (Tinkoff Bank, Alfa Bank) and non-banking (QIWI wallet, common payments). Yandex Money) platforms. Moreover, services like Master Card PayPass, Visa PayWave, Apple Pay and Samsung Pay have also developed very fast in Russia – contactless technologies and NFC 2 Funding For Fintech may be used nowadays for payment almost everywhere. The Russian fintech market now has several innovation projects using 2.1 Broadly, what types of funding are available for new the newest technologies in different areas. Some examples of the most and growing businesses in your jurisdiction (covering successful Russian fintech startups and companies are, among others: both equity and debt)? VisionLabs; Telegram; Waves Platform; Tinkoff Bank; and Rocket Bank. A big impact on the development of the fintech sector in Russia Russian legislation covering the issues related to the funding of is made by the largest national technological company, Yandex. companies, namely the Federal Law dated February 2, 1998 Furthermore, according to the statistics provided by the Central Bank, No. 14-FZ “On Limited Liability Companies” and the Federal Law the level of fintech involvement is the highest in the following fields: dated December 26, 1995 No. 208-FZ “On Joint-Stock Companies”, ■ payments and money transfers (online payments, online prescribe both types of funding – debt and equity. money transfers, P2P currency exchange, B2B payments and Equity funding may be performed in the following forms: transfers, cloud cash registers and smart terminals); ■ use of the company’s net income; and ■ financing (P2P consumer crediting, P2P business crediting, and crowdfunding); and ■ issue and offering of shares.

250 WWW.ICLG.COM ICLG TO: FINTECH 2019 © Published and reproduced with kind permission by Global Legal Group Ltd, London QUORUS GmbH Russia

The opportunities of debt funding are the following: ■ acceptance of the securities for servicing by the settlement ■ credits and loans received from banks and other financial depositary; and institutions; ■ registration of the securities prospectus (a document ■ issue of bonds; containing all information about the issuer and listed securities) with the Central Bank. ■ funds borrowed from other companies or private persons; and The shares of foreign companies may be admitted for initial placement ■ budgetary funding. at a Russian exchange on the basis of a decision of the Central Bank of Furthermore, according to the abovementioned laws, the shareholders Russia. It should be further noted that, according to the listing rules of the companies (LLC as well as JSC) are authorised to make adopted by the Moscow Exchange (MOEX), there are several gratuitous contributions aimed at financing the current activities of

additional requirements with respect to foreign securities in order to be Russia the company. Such contributions do not increase the amount of the admitted for listing on MOEX: company’s charter capital and the nominal value of the shares (but do ■ the securities should have an international securities increase the company’s net assets value). identification number (ISIN) and a Classification of Financial Instruments (CFI) code, assigned by one of the national 2.2 Are there any special incentive schemes for numbering agencies which is a member of the Association of investment in tech/fintech businesses, or in National Numbering Agencies (ANNA); small/medium-sized businesses more generally, in ■ the issuer of the securities: (a) is established in a country – a your jurisdiction, e.g. tax incentive schemes for member of the OECD, a member or observer of FATF, a enterprise investment or venture capital investment? member of MONEYVAL, or the Single Economic Area; or (b) is established in a country with which the Central Bank of Russian fintech businesses may enjoy incentive schemes prescribed Russia has an effective agreement on cooperation; or (c) has by law aimed at the stimulation and facilitation of foreign and national already issued securities that are listed on an approved investments. For example, special clusters and technological centres exchange (the list of such exchanges is prepared and updated created in different regions of the country (one of the most known is by the Central Bank); and Skolkovo) provide startups and small/medium-sized businesses in the ■ the rights to the foreign securities are recorded by a Russian sphere of fintech with special tax exemptions or privileges. The depository on a special account. government is also entitled to offer grants for the development of Once the abovementioned requirements are met by the issuer, the projects. securities are approved for listings. Furthermore, according to the Federal Law dated July 9, 1999 No. 160-FZ “On foreign investments in the Russian Federation”, some 2.4 Have there been any notable exits (sale of business or basic guarantees are provided to foreign investors, including, but IPO) by the founders of fintech businesses in your not limited to: jurisdiction? ■ legal protection of the investor’s activity in Russia; ■ right to freely dispose of the income which is received in The case of Tinkoff Bank, who provides to its clients a full line of Russia; and banking products and executes all operations online without any ■ guarantee from a negative change of the legislation. single branch, is a good example of fintech development in the Russian banking sector. The IPO of Tinkoff Bank took place in 2013 and gained around USD 1,087 billion. 2.3 In brief, what conditions need to be satisfied for a business to IPO in your jurisdiction? In October 2017, the Russian companies group QIWI bought two fintech companies – Rocket Bank and Tochka Bank – that First of all, it should be noted that, according to the applicable previously pertained to the Russian group Otkritie Holding. These legislation, there are two different forms of joint-stock companies in virtual banks, as well as Tinkoff Bank, provide their clients with Russia: non-public and public ones. A non-public company may online banking services. receive the status of a public company if it takes a decision to make Furthermore, two companies, originating from Russia, made their an IPO and list its securities on a stock exchange. exits via ICO. Since it is still impossible to make a lawful ICO in An IPO in Russia may be structured in one of the following ways: Russia, these offerings were performed in foreign jurisdictions. ■ additional issue of securities and its use for IPO – primary ■ Pavel Durov, the founder and creator of the popular placement; messenger Telegram, published at the end of the year 2017 information about his intentions to launch the project ■ public offer of shares that are already issued and owned by its “Telegram Open Network” (a new distributed ledger based shareholders – secondary placement; or on blockchain technology) as well as new tokens – Gram. ■ a combination of the two previous options. The first round of Telegram’s preliminary ICO made between The IPOs on the Russian equity market usually include both primary the major shareholders of the company took place in January and secondary placements. 2018 and has already gained USD 850 million. On March 30, 2018, the company announced the results of the second stage To access the exchange and be admitted for public offering, a ICO – a further USD 850 million was raised. Ninety-four company should comply with the basic listing requirements: investors participated in this investment stage. ■ compliance of the securities with the obligatory rules of the ■ Waves Platform – an open-source blockchain platform Russian legislation, namely with the requirements of the created by the Russian physicist and businessman Alexander Federal Law dated April 22, 1996 No. 39-FZ “On Securities Ivanov. This platform allows its users to launch their own Market”, as well as the absence of factors that may impede cryptocurrency tokens on the basis of the smart contracts the listing procedure; technology. According to the estimations of CoinmarketCap, ■ disclosure of all necessary information about the issuer and the market capitalisation of Waves as of February 7, 2019 is the securities to the Central Bank of Russia (financial more than USD 258 million. The company launched the ICO markets regulator); in 2016 and gained more than BTC 30,000.

ICLG TO: FINTECH 2019 WWW.ICLG.COM 251 © Published and reproduced with kind permission by Global Legal Group Ltd, London 252 Russia © Published andreproduced with kindpermission byGlobal Legal Group Ltd, London ■ ■ authorities’ attitudetowards theseinnovations,arethefollowing: draft, thatfallundoubtedlyunderthegeneraltrendofRussian and passedthefirstreadinginMay2018. The keyelementsofthis was submittedtotheParliament(StateDuma)onMarch20,2018 prepared bytheMinistryofFinanceandCentralBank,which The maindocumentelaboratedinthissphereisthedraftlaw 3.2 securities marketortraditionalbanks. companies arenotentitledtoactasprofessionalmembersofthe and RUB500,000(≈USD7,585),respectively. Microfinance entities andindividualsislimitedtoRUB3million(≈USD45,510) register. The amountofthe microloansthatmaybeprovidedto companies shallreceiveaspeciallicenceandbeincludedonthe microfinance activityandcompanies”,such According totheFederalLawdatedJuly2,2010No.151-FZ“On activity ofmicrofinanceorganisations dealingwithmicrofinancing. Apart fromP2P financingandcrowdfunding,thelawsregulate 2018 andthesecondoneshouldtakeplaceatbeginningof2019. respectively). The firstreading ofthisdraftwascompletedinMay of February7,2019)andRUB2billion(≈USD30.3million), hereinafter, theappliedexchangerateofRUBtoUSDisrelevantas these amountsareexpectedtobeRUB1.4million(≈USD21,200; project mayraisebysums,indicatedtheCentralBank(nowadays one project,aswelltheoverallamountofinvestmentsthata investments ofanon-qualifiedinvestororindividualentrepreneurin Moreover, thelawisplannedtolimitmaximumamountof states inart.1thatitdoesnotcovertheissuesrelatingtodonations. issues relatedtoordinarycrowdfunding.Forexample,thedraft towards theregulationofcrowdinvestingandscarcelycovers Parliament) shouldbementioned. This projectismoreoriented law concerningthecrowdfundingmarket(alsosubmittedto On thesubjectofP2P financingandcrowdfunding,anewproject be analysedinthefollowingquestionbelow. The legislationconcerningcryptocurrenciesandcryptoassetswill does notcoverthemajorityofissuesrelatedtospherefintech. As waspreviouslystatedinquestion1.2above,Russianlegislation 3.1 the absenceofsolidlegalframeworkinspherefintech. players maybebecauseofthesanctionspolicyagainstRussiaand tendency. Expertssupposethatsuchbehaviourofthemarket IPOs, andfintechcompanieshavenotbeenexcludedfromthis Generally speaking,theyear2018wasnotveryfruitfulintermsof QUORUS GmbH WWW.ICLG.COM 3 and thetypeoffintechactivitiesthatareregulated. for fintechbusinessesoperatinginyourjurisdiction, Please brieflydescribetheregulatoryframework(s) Fintech Regulation consumption, stipulated bythegovernment;and (miner) exceeds within threemonthsthelimitsof energy This activityisqualifiedasbusiness activityiftheperson (as arewardfortransactionsvalidation) ofcryptocurrency. mining isrecognisedasanactivity aimed atcreationorreceipt forex dealerormarketoperator)only; acting accordingtotheapplicable lawsasabroker, dealer, investor viaaspecialDFA ExchangeOperator(anentity and otherpropertymaybeperformedbyanon-qualified exchange ofDFAs to otherDFAs, roubles,foreigncurrency lawful meansofpayment. The transactionsaimedatthe asset (hereinafter–aDFA). These DFAs maynotbeusedas cryptocurrency andtokensarequalifiedasadigitalfinancial directed atcryptocurrenciesorcryptoassets? Is thereanyregulationinyourjurisdictionspecifically

of CivilLegislation. The second hearingofthisdraftshouldhave part ofthePresidentialCouncilforCodificationandDevelopment modifications provokedawaveofcriticismandscepticismfromthe only coveredthesale/purchaseandexchangeoftokens),etc. These involving cryptocurrencieswerenolongergovernedbythislaw(it completely eliminatedfromthedraft,andfinancialtransactions altered. Forexample,thedefinitionofcryptocurrencywas draft ofthementionedlawandbasicconceptsweresubstantially 2018, agreatnumberofmodificationswereproposedtothefirst It shouldbefurthermentionedthatinthebeginningofSeptember currently plannedtobelimitedRUB50,000≈USD758). maximum sumidentifiedbytheCentralBank(thisamountis investors areentitledtopurchasetokensfromoneissuefora tokens transfertothepurchasersareconcluded.Non-qualified stage oftheissuecontracts,aswellsmartaimedat procedure ofelectronicwalletsopening,etc.).Duringthesecond agreements withinvestorswillbeconcluded,informationaboutthe of tokensissue,theissuer, depositary, price,datewhenthe memorandum andapublicoffer (adocumentcontainingtheterms the issuersoftokensshouldpublish,onInternet,theirinvesting procedure similartoIPO.Forthisreason,atthefirststageofissue Concerning theICO,ideaofauthoritiesistomake ■ The region’s government iscurrentlyconsidering the issueof Another interestingpilotprojectmay belaunchedinUdmurtiaregion. fundraising aswellbuyingand selling assets. the possibilitytousecryptocurrencies forthepurposesof blockchain, artificialintelligence, quantumorneurotechnologies, fintech companiesdealingwith distributedledgers,including Tatarstan regionsarebeingdiscussed). Itisplannedtogivesome payment purposesinsomepilotregions(currently, Kaliningradand idea oftheauthoritiesistoallowusecryptocurrenciesfor possibility oflaunchinganewregulatory“sandbox”project. The of EconomicDevelopmentand Trade arecurrentlydiscussingthe Besides that,theRussianGovernment,StateDumaandMinistry storage, robotisation,etc. the developmentofinformationsecurity, informationtransferand technologies, includingfintech. A specialIT clusterisdedicatedto this hightechnologybusinessareaisthedevelopmentofscienceand called “RussianSilicon Valley”) wascreated. The mainpurposeof Furthermore, intheyear2009SkolkovoInnovationCenter(so- authorities’ interesttowardsfintech. provided inquestion1.1)representsanotherexampleofthe years 2018–2020publishedbytheCentralBank(itsdescriptionwas stating themaindirectionsoffintechdevelopmentinRussiafor avoidance ofgapsinthelawandshadowschemes. The document establish therulesofgameandregulatethisspherefor by thedevelopmentofnewtechnologies,butatsametimetryto As waspreviouslymentioned,Russianauthoritiesareencouraged 3.3 returning thisdraftbacktothefirsthearingonceenhanced. issued arecommendationlistingallthediscrepancies,andsuggested taken placeinautumn2018,butduetothesedisputestheCouncil circumstances stipulatedinsuchcontract. distributed ledgers,accomplishedintheorderandunder performed bywayofautomaticelectronictransactionsinthe form, theexecutionofrightsandobligationsunderwhichis a smartcontractisidentifiedasanagreementinelectronic fintechs inyourjurisdiction? Are thereanyregulatory‘sandbox’ optionsfor services markets,andifsohowisthismanifested? technology-driven newentrantstoregulatedfinancial jurisdiction receptivetofintechinnovationand Are financialregulatorsandpolicy-makersinyour

ICLG TO: FINTECH2019

Russia

QUORUS GmbH Russia

tokenised bonds and their listing on the Byelorussian crypto exchange As for fintech businesses, there are no special legal acts, so general Currency.com. Such placement will be aimed at fundraising and the principals of personal data protection are applicable. attraction of additional investment into the region.

4.2 Do your data privacy laws apply to organisations 3.4 What, if any, regulatory hurdles must fintech established outside of your jurisdiction? Do your data businesses (or financial services businesses offering privacy laws restrict international transfers of data? fintech products and services) which are established outside your jurisdiction overcome in order to access Generally, Russian legislation permits cross-border transfer of new customers in your jurisdiction? personal data (s. art. 12 of the Personal Data Law). However, at the

same time, the list of countries to which personal data may be Russia A foreign company providing fintech services and interested in transferred is limited by two criteria. It should be either countries attracting Russian clients should remember that some Russian laws which are parties to the Personal Data Protection Convention or have the so-called imperative provisions that may not be altered or countries which provide adequate protection of the rights of avoided by an agreement of the parties. Such provisions may appear personal data subjects according to Roskomnadzor Order No. 274. in different fields, such as personal data protection (see also question 4.2), consumer rights protection (the consumer of different The cross-border transfer of personal data may be prohibited or goods and services is basically qualified as a weaker party to a restricted for the purposes of protecting the foundations of the contract and has, consequently, several rights aimed at protection of constitutional order of the Russian Federation, morality, health, his interests). Furthermore, foreign fintech companies should rights and legitimate interests of citizens, to ensure the state’s comply with the mandatory requirements regarding the IPO and defence and its security. ICO (see questions 2.3 and 3.1, respectively). As to the transfer of personal data on the territory of foreign states which do not provide adequate protection, it may be carried out only in the following cases: 4 Other Regulatory Regimes / ■ there is written consent of the personal data subject to the Non-Financial Regulation cross-border transfer of personal data; ■ it is stipulated in the international treaties of the Russian Federation; 4.1 Does your jurisdiction regulate the collection/use/transmission of personal data, and if ■ it is provided by the federal laws and necessary for the yes, what is the legal basis for such regulation and purposes of protection of the foundations of the constitutional how does this apply to fintech businesses operating order of the Russian Federation, ensuring national defence in your jurisdiction? and safety of the state, and also the steady and safe functioning of transport infrastructure, protection of interests of the Legal regulation in the field of the collection/use/transmission of personality, and protection of society and the state in the field of transport infrastructure from acts of illegal intervention; personal data is based on the Constitution of the Russian Federation (in particular, cl. 1 art. 24, which prohibits the collection, storage, ■ it is required for the performance of the agreement’s use and dissemination of information on a person’s private life obligations, to which the personal data subject is a party; and without his/her consent) and international treaties such as the ■ it is required for the protection of life, health and other vital Convention on the Protection of Individuals with regard to interests of the personal data subject, or other persons if it is Automatic Processing of Personal Data dated January 1, 1981 No. impossible to obtain consent – in writing – of the personal data subject. 108 (hereinafter – Personal Data Protection Convention). The requirements of the Personal Data Law apply to the Russian The primary national Law is the Federal Law dated July 27, 2006 legal entities, as well as to the branches and representative offices of No. 152-FZ “On personal data” (hereinafter – Personal Data Law). foreign legal entities engaged in activities of personal data There are some other federal laws defining cases and peculiarities of processing on the territory of the Russian Federation. But it is worth processing of personal data, such as the Federal Law dated July 27, mentioning that, according to latest amendments to the Personal 2006 No. 149-FZ “On information, information technologies and the Data Law, the operator is obliged to ensure the recording, protection of information”. The Labour Code of the Russian systematisation, accumulation, storage, clarification (updating, Federation (hereinafter – the Labour Code) contains a separate section changing) and extraction of personal data of Russian citizens using devoted to the protection of the personal data of the employees. databases located only on the territory of the Russian Federation, There are a number of subordinate acts, e.g.: even if the personal data was received through the Internet. ■ the Government Decree dated November 1, 2012 No. 1119 “On approval of the requirements for the protection of 4.3 Please briefly describe the sanctions that apply for personal data during their processing in personal data failing to comply with your data privacy laws. information systems”; ■ the Presidential Decree “On approval of the list of the confidential information”; Administrative liability: According to the Federal Law dated February 7, 2017 No. 13-FZ “On amendments to the Code of ■ the Order of the Federal Service for Supervision in the sphere Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation”, the responsibility of communication, information technologies and mass communications (Roskomnadzor) dated September 5, 2013 for violation in this sphere increased and there are now seven types of No. 996 “On approval of the requirements for the offence instead of one. Examples of administrative offences are: depersonalization of personal data”; and processing of personal data in cases not prescribed by law; processing ■ the Order of Roskomnadzor dated March 15, 2013 No. 274 of personal data without written consent of the personal data subject to “On approval of the list of foreign states which are not parties the processing of his personal data in cases where such consent must be to the Convention and which provide adequate protection of obtained; and others (art. 13.11). The usual penalties for the rights of subjects of personal data” (Roskomnadzor Order administrative offences in this sphere are fines (up to RUB 75,000 ≈ No. 274). USD 1,137).

ICLG TO: FINTECH 2019 WWW.ICLG.COM 253 © Published and reproduced with kind permission by Global Legal Group Ltd, London 254 Russia © Published andreproduced with kindpermission byGlobal Legal Group Ltd, London mutual evaluations. country fromthepermanentmonitoring listuntilanewroundof the Financial Action Task Force(FATF), ledtotheremovalof The resultsofareportsubmittedin 2013byRussia,asamemberof 4.5 ■ ■ ■ may applytofintechbusinesses,itisworthmentioningthefollowing: defence iscontinuouslyevolving. Among themaindocumentsthat The Russianlegislationinthesphereofcybersecurityand 4.4 property damageandlosses. compensate moraldamageirrespectiveofcompensationfor according tocl.2art.24ofthePersonalDataLaw, itispossibleto privacy lawbearsresponsibilityundercivillegislation.Moreover, Civil lawliability illegally disclosedthepersonaldataofanotheremployee. employment agreementwithanemployeeinthecasewherelatter employees (art.90). The employerisentitledtoterminatethe for breachofdataprivacylawswhileprocessingthepersonal the employer(orofficers) bear(s)disciplinaryandmaterialliability Disciplinary andmaterialliability maximum termoffiveyears;andothers. fines; compulsorycommunityservice;imprisonmentfora most commonpenaltiesforcriminaloffences inthissphereare: speech, publiclydisplayedworkormassmedia(cl.1art.137). The or herconsent;disseminationofthisinformationinapublic person, constitutinghisorherpersonalfamilysecretswithout collection ordisseminationofinformationontheprivatelifea contains anumberofcriminaloffences, forexample:illegal Criminal liability following sanctions: Failure tocomplywiththedataprivacylawsalsoresultsin QUORUS GmbH WWW.ICLG.COM your jurisdiction. requirements thatmayapplytofintechbusinessesin Please describeany AML andother financialcrime imprisonment. this spherearefines,compulsorycommunityserviceor owner, etc. The mostcommonpenaltiesforsuchoffences in and non-performanceofdutiesbythenewsaggregator critical informationinfrastructureoftheRussianFederation; fraudulent computerprograms;theundueinfluenceon information protectedbylaw;theuseanddistributionof information, e.g.:theunlawfulaccesstocomputer Federation containseveraloffences inthefieldofcomputer The Criminaland Administrative CodesoftheRussian resources ofthecountry. elimination oftheconsequencesattacksoninformation the creationofastatesystemdetection,preventionand the RussianFederation”,adoptedatendof2017,assumes 187-FZ “Onsafetyofcriticalinformationinfrastructure Furthermore, thenewFederalLawdatedJuly26,2017No. processing (e.g.servers,harddiscs,etc.). negative impactonthetechnicalmeansofinformation prevent unauthorisedaccesstoinformationand utilise constantcontrolofthelevelinformationsecurity, protection, ordersanobligationoftheinformationholderto protection”, stipulatingthemainmethodsofinformation information, informationtechnologiesand The FederalLawdatedJuly27,2006No.149-FZ“On operating inyourjurisdiction? regulations thatmayapplytofintechbusinesses Does yourjurisdictionhavecybersecuritylawsor : Inanycase,thepersonwhobreachesdata : The CriminalCodeoftheRussianFederation

: According totheLabourCode,

such offences inthissphere arefines,compulsorycommunity money launderingregulations,etc. The mostcommonpenaltiesfor terrorist activities,thefailuretocomplywithrequirementsof money andotherpropertyacquiredbyillegalmeans,facilitating contain anumberofoffences inthisfield,e.g.thelaunderingof The Criminaland Administrative CodesoftheRussianFederation qualified asitsbeneficialowner). directly orindirectlyatleast25%ofthecompany’s sharesis beneficial owners(accordingtothelaw, ashareholderowning provide banksandtaxauthoritieswithrelevantinformationaboutits Furthermore, thelawstipulatesobligationofacompanyto Service forFinancialMonitoring. and directionsoftheCentralBankordersFederal 600,000 ≈USD9,100),takingintoaccounttherecommendations transactions (usuallyexceedingorequaltotheamountofRUB internal supervisionandcompulsorycontrolofsuspicious participants ofthesecuritiesmarket,etc.)toworkoutrules (including creditorganisations, insurancecompanies,professional financing”, stipulatingtheobligationoffinancialinstitutions 7, 2001No.115-FZ “Onanti-moneylaunderingandanti-terrorism The mainnationallawinthissphereistheFederalLawdated August exchange accordingtotheOECDsystem. September 2018,Russiastartedtheautomatictaxinformation Convention onMutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters.In agreements aimedatautomaticinformationexchange,includingthe Moreover, Russiaisapartyofseveralmultilateralandbilateral the consentof guardianshipauthorities,isobligatory. such cases,theconsentofone parents(guardians),aswell if thereisnodamagetohealth,study andmoraldevelopment.In conclusion ofacontractwithperson undertheageof16ispossible There aresomerestrictionsrelated totheageofemployee. The days fromthedateofactualadmission (art.67oftheLabourCode). employment contractinwritingisrequirednolaterthanthreeworking request oftheemployer. Inthiscase,theconclusionof agreement incasetheemployeewasactuallyadmittedtoworkat employer andtheemployeemayappearbeforesigninglabour employer onthebasisofsuchcontract.Labourrelationsbetween required. The labourrelations arisebetweenanemployeeand In relationtohiringemployees,awrittenemploymentcontractis 5.1 ■ ■ ■ ■ concerning: fintech businessesshalldefinitelycomplywiththerequirements In additiontotheregulatoryregimesalreadyspecifiedabove, 4.6 service orlimitationoffreedom. 5 businesses? restrictions thatarefrequentlyencounteredby Are thereanyparticularlyonerousrequirementsor the hiringanddismissalofstaffinyourjurisdiction? In broadterms,whatisthelegalframeworkaround Accessing Talent import-substitution andlocalisationrules. taxation ofcompanies;and registration ofaforeigncompany’s Russianbranchoffice; company; establishment andregistrationofanewRussian-based to fintechbusinessesoperatinginyourjurisdiction? Are thereanyotherregulatoryregimesthatmayapply

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Russia

QUORUS GmbH Russia

Any discrimination of the candidate by the conclusion or Federation”, foreigners enjoy the right to freely dispose of their termination of an employment contract in connection with the abilities to work, and choose the kind of activity and profession on gender, race, skin colour, nationality, language, origin, status the territory of the Russian Federation. (property, family, social and official), age, place of residence of the Foreigners have the right to enter into labour relations if they have candidate, and with respect to women for reasons related to reached the age of 18 (cl. 3 art. 327.1 of the Labour Code). pregnancy or the presence of children, is forbidden. There are some requirements for employers. The first thing which There are different grounds for dismissal of the employee: on the an employer shall control is the status of a foreigner. There are three initiative of the employee; by agreement of the parties; due to staff statuses of foreigners which are in place in Russia: reduction; or due to violation of labour duties, etc. Notification of ■ Temporarily staying foreigners who work in Russia based the dismissal of the employee shall be made in writing (e.g. three on a visa and a work permit. Russia days prior to dismissal in case of the employer’s initiative). ■ Temporarily residing foreigners who work in Russia based Employers are not entitled to dismiss certain categories of on a temporary residence permit. employees: pregnant women; women with a child under the age of ■ Permanently residing foreigners who work in Russia based three or single women raising a child under the age of 14; a parent on a resident permit. who is the sole breadwinner of a disabled child under the age of 18; Most foreigners work in Russia on both a visa and a work permit. A and an employee in the period of his temporary incapacity for work, work permit should be executed only for foreigners from visa etc. countries. Foreigners from visa-free countries (e.g. , It should be noted that the Russian labour law is very employee- Uzbekistan) shall obtain a patent. A work permit may be divided friendly. An employee may be dismissed only in the case of strong into two categories: for ordinary workers; and for highly qualified reasons, e.g. because of an absence from the workplace for more specialists (HQs). A highly qualified specialist is a foreign citizen than four hours during the working day or appearance of the worker who has experience, skills or achievements in a particular field of in an intoxicated condition. activity. Such workers have some privileges over others: a work permit is valid for three years (for ordinary workers this is usually 5.2 What, if any, mandatory employment benefits must be for a year); they do not have to pass an exam in the Russian provided to staff? language, Russian history and the basics of Russian legislation; and they have the right to primary health care and specialised medical An employee is to be granted with a minimum salary (Statutory care on the basis of the medical insurance policy, etc. Highly- Minimum Wage Index) amounting to RUB 11,280 ≈ USD 171 qualified specialists participating in the “Skolkovo” project after (starting from January 1, 2019). However, each territorial subject entering Russia have the right to obtain a work visa for up to three has the right to establish its own rate, e.g. in Moscow it is equal to years in the case of successful employment. RUB 18,781 ≈ USD 285 (starting from January 1, 2019). According to art. 16 of the Federal Law dated September 28, 2010 The key mandatory employment benefits of an employee are the No. 244-FZ “On Skolkovo innovation center”, legal entities following: involved in the implementation of the Skolkovo project which employ foreigners to carry out labour activities do not have to obtain ■ in case of official business trips: the preservation of the place of work (position) and average earnings, as well as permission for recruitment of such employees. Moreover, reimbursement of expenses associated with such trips; invitations to enter the Russian Federation for labour purposes, as well as work permits to foreigners, are issued without taking into ■ in case of moving to another locality due to the change of the workplace: reimbursement of all expenses for moving and account the quotas established by the government of the Russian settlement in a new place; Federation (not only foreign workers themselves, but also adult members of families of highly qualified specialists). ■ in case of combining work with education: additional study leave with the preservation of average earnings; ■ in case of staff reduction or liquidation of the organisation: 6 Technology severance in the amount of one average monthly salary and a possibility to require two additional monthly salaries while looking for a new job; 6.1 Please briefly describe how innovations and ■ maternity and paternity leave (up to three years); inventions are protected in your jurisdiction. ■ paid annual leave (not less than 28 calendar days); moreover, according to the Federal Law dated November 11, 2018 No. According to art. 2 of the Federal Law dated August 23, 1996 No. 360-FZ, employees who have three or more children under 127-FZ “Concerning science and State scientific and technical the age of 12 shall be granted annual paid leave at their policy”, an innovation means a new or significantly improved discretion at a convenient time for them; product (product or service) or process, a new method of sales or a ■ reduced working time for disabled persons (not more than 35 new method of organisation in business practice, workplace hours per week with full payment for work); and organisation or external relations. ■ allowance for temporary incapacity for work (illness). According to art. 1350 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation (hereinafter – the Civil Code), an invention means a technical 5.3 What, if any, hurdles must businesses overcome to solution in any field relating to a product or a method, including the bring employees from outside your jurisdiction into use of a product or a method for a certain purpose. your jurisdiction? Is there a special route for On the basis of these definitions, we may assert that innovations and obtaining permission for individuals who wish to work inventions are the results of intellectual activity which are currently for fintech businesses? governed by the Civil Code provisions.

According to cl. 1 art. 13 of the Federal Law dated July 25, 2002 No. The protection of intellectual rights (in particular, rights to the 115-FZ “On the legal status of foreign citizens in the Russian patent for the innovation or invention) is mainly exercised through

ICLG TO: FINTECH 2019 WWW.ICLG.COM 255 © Published and reproduced with kind permission by Global Legal Group Ltd, London 256 Russia © Published andreproduced with kindpermission byGlobal Legal Group Ltd, London receipt ofthepatent). expert’s examination,paymentofduties,stateregistrationand following certainactions(filinganapplication,performanceofthe person authorisedbyhim)receivesaspecialdocument–patent, object of“industrialproperty”isnotprotecteduntiltheauthor(ora used bytheauthorhimself,isnotsubjecttoprotection,and For example,theexclusiverighttoaninvention,evenifitisactively prescribed bylaw. and protected,itisnecessarytoperformanumberofformalities objective formisnotenough:fortherightstoariseandberealised For otheritemsofintellectualrights,creationandexpressioninan any otherformalitiesarerequired. emergence, exerciseandprotection ofcopyright,noregistrationor depend ontheitemofintellectualproperty. Forexample,forthe The emergence, exercise and protectionoftheownershipIP 6.2 pretrial claimbeforefilingalawsuitfordamagesorcompensation. jurisdiction ofthestatearbitrazhcourt,rightholdershallfilea and (or)individualentrepreneurs,thedisputeisunder rightholder andtheinfringerofanexclusiverightarelegalentities cases. According totheprovisionsofCivilCode,if Since 2017,pre-courtdisputeresolutionismandatoryinsome ■ ■ ■ Types ofliabilitiesprescribedbylaw: ■ ■ the protectionofintellectualpropertyrights: The followingbodiesadministrativelyconsiderdisputesrelatedto against thedecisionofadministrativebodytocourts. extrajudicial protectionwithafurtherpossibilityofappealing But insomecases,thelegislatoralsoprovidespossibilityof to theprotectionofintellectualrights. rights inRussia(created2013)whichconsidersdisputesrelated the courts. There isaspecialisedcourtforintellectualproperty QUORUS GmbH WWW.ICLG.COM civil (recognitionoftheright,restoringsituationthat contain dataconstitutingastatesecret. applications forthegrantofapatentinventionsthat government oftheRussianFederationtoconsider Ministry ofInternal Affairs andothers)empoweredbythe Federal Executiveauthorities(theMinistryofDefence,the Federal serviceforintellectualproperty(Rospatent);and in yourjurisdiction. Please brieflydescribehowownershipofIP operates if thementionedactionsleadedtoamaterialloss). of counterfeitworks,andunlawfuluseindustrialproperty, imprisonment incaseofpiracy, import,saleandunlawfuluse criminal (impositionofafine,communityservice, counterfeit works);and counterfeit copiesincaseofimport,saleandunlawfuluse administrative (impositionofafineandforfeiture 1251–1252 oftheCivilCode); publication ofthecourt’s decisionontheviolation)(arts of itsviolation,compensationformoralharm,and infringing theintellectualpropertyrightsorcreatingathreat existed beforetheviolationoflaw, thesuppressionofacts

■ IP isusuallyexploitedbymeansof: 6.4 local patents(theso-calledconventionpriorityruleisapplied). conventional regimesmaybedoneinRussiawithoutthereceiptof treaties, theenforcementofIP rightsprotectedunderthese (1981). Pursuanttotherespectiveprovisionofmentioned Agreement ConcerningtheInternationalRegistrationofMarks (1883), PatentCooperation Treaty (1970)andtheMadrid the ParisConventionforProtectionofIndustrialProperty regime onIP rightsprotection.Forexample,Russiaisamemberof At thesametime,someinternationaltreatiesstipulateaspecial performed accordingtothedocumentsoftitleissuedbyRospatent. Generally, theenforcementandprotectionofIP rightsinRussiaare which Russiahasjoined. rights, butthereisasufficient numberofinternationaltreatiesto The CivilCodeistheprimarylegislationforintellectualproperty 6.3 international disputeresolutionby the leading specialistinthesphereofcorporate &M&A transactionsand Notable Practitioner. InMarch2018, Evgenywasrankedasa him asanexpertintradelaw;and him asanexpertincorporatelawandM&A; Lawyers oftheRussianFederation.EMEA LegalExpertsrecognises Evgeny isthe Advisor tothePresidentofFederalChamber and arbitration,legalduediligence. real estateandnaturalresourceslaw, landlaw, civillaw, litigation corporate law, contractlaw, commerciallaw, investmentlegislation, expertise focusesoninternationallaw(publicandprivate), Evgeny ZhilinisourPartnerintheZurichoffice. Hisareaof Zhilin The authorsofthischapterarepleasedtoacknowledge Acknowledgment payments onincome(revenue)orinanyotherform. in theformoffixedone-timeorperiodicpayments,interest payment ofaremunerationundertheseagreementsmaybeprovided exclusive rightbetweencommercialorganisations isallowed. The According totheCivilCode,nogratuitousassignmentof registration. These agreementsmustbeinwritingandtheyaresubjecttostate ■ ■ forhisindividualcontributionandexpertiseonthematter. assignment –acomprehensivetransferoftheexclusiverights regarding suchexploitation/monetisation? and arethereanyparticularrulesorrestrictions How doyouexploit/monetiseIP inyourjurisdiction do anytreatiesormulti-jurisdictionalrightsapply)? or areyouabletoenforceotherrights(forexample, jurisdiction, doyouneedtoownlocal/nationalrights In ordertoprotectorenforceIP rightsinyour etc.) totheotherpartyforuseinitsbusinessactivity. transfers thesetofrights(trademark,know-how, firmname, certain experienceinthecommercialsphereofactivity, rights, havingawell-establishedbusinessreputationand franchising –onepartypossessingacertainsetofexclusive use; or licensing –grantingoftheintellectualpropertyfortemporary from therightholdertootherpersonorentity;

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IFLR 1000 Kommersant

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Evgeny

QUORUS GmbH Russia

Maxim Mezentsev Nikita Iovenko QUORUS GmbH QUORUS GmbH 123112 Presnenskaya nab., 6, bld. 2 123112 Presnenskaya nab., 6, bld. 2 Imperia Tower, office 4526 Imperia Tower, office 4526 Moscow Moscow Russia Russia

Tel: +7 495 540 60 23 Tel: +7 495 540 60 23 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] URL: www.quorus.ch URL: www.quorus.ch Russia Maxim is a Senior Associate and Head of QUORUS’s Moscow office. Nikita is an Associate in QUORUS’s Moscow office. His areas of Corporate law and M&A, contract law, legal regulation of foreign expertise include, inter alia, corporate law and M&A, contract law, laws investments, competition and antitrust, international arbitration, and and regulations in the sphere of fintech, legal regulation of foreign capital markets are among Maxim’s main areas of expertise. investments, capital markets, civil law, international public and private law. Maxim advises Russian and foreign clients on the matters of contract and corporate law, including the matters of creation, reorganisation Nikita performs complex legal support of Russian and foreign clients of and dissolution of legal entities, accreditation of subsidiaries and the firm, as well as providing assistance to their business activity in representative offices of foreign legal entities. Russia and participating in due diligence projects. In March 2018, Maxim was ranked as a leading specialist in the sphere Nikita is fluent in Russian, English, French and Spanish. of commercial law in the Kommersant rating. Maxim is fluent in Russian, English and German.

QUORUS GmbH is a Swiss-Russian management and consultancy firm with an exclusive operational focus on Swiss/European and Russian/Eurasian cross-border activities. QUORUS’s aim is to act as a centre of competence and excellence as well as a hub for cross-border Swiss/European–Russian/Eurasian projects, thus it fulfils a dual role in that it advises, sustains and accompanies projects originating in Russia/Eurasia aiming towards Switzerland/Europe, as well as in the opposite direction. Focusing on holistic, exclusive, tailor-made specialist service solutions based on expertise in Russian, Swiss and EU law, banking, asset- management, and further fields, depending on clients’ needs, QUORUS’s unique business model provides for targeted partnerships with specialists in Russia, Eurasia, Switzerland, Europe and beyond. In March 2018, QUORUS was ranked as the leading law firm in Commercial Law and Foreign Trade, Corporate and M&A, International Arbitration, and Pharmaceuticals in the Kommersant rating (annual Russian rating of law firms and lawyers). In December 2018, a famous annual Russian law firms rating – PRAVO 300 – ranked our firm’s Commercial and Foreign Trade practice as Tier 1, and the practices of International Arbitration and Corporate/M&A were ranked in Tier 3. The firm also has the status of Recognised Firm according to the IFLR 1000 international rating.

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