The ban on Bashneft’s shares threatens to disrupt the company’s SPO.

AFK "Sistema" has received a notice from "Bashneft"’s registrar "Registry" about a ban on transactions with the shares of the oil company, AFK. "Sistema" together with its "subsidiaries" owns 84.4% of the voting shares of "Bashneft" (73.94% of the share capital).

This prohibition in no way restricts the right of the AFK Systema to vote and to receive the dividends and other rights associated with the ownership of shares.

The prohibition was imposed during the investigation, where "AFK Sistema" is not a defendant. "The company will certainly provide comprehensive assistance and full cooperation with the ongoing investigation", - the statement informs. The "AFK Sistema" representative does not reveal the details.

This is obviously an interim measure which may be considered as an arrest, Eldar Nazmutdinov, the head of the AVG Capital Partners legal department, stated.