Head of FBK Legal's Financial Investigation Practice, Alexander Sotov comments upon the news that VTB became a shareholder of the Bank of Moscow

Head of FBK Legal’s Financial Investigation Practice, Alexander Sotov in his interview to Companiya magazine commented upon the news that VTB became a shareholder of the Bank of Moscow through buying out 46,5% of the bank’s shares and the blocking package of Capital Insurance Group (SSG, owns 17,32% of the Bank of Moscow). As the expert explained, under the charter of the Bank of Moscow a shareholder owning over 25% of shares may block amending the charter, additional emission of the bank’s shares, if its amount is more than one-fourth of the charter capital. Electing the president and premature termination of his/her authority is a competence of the general shareholders meeting. “To re-elect the president simple majority of shareholders’ votes are enough”, the expert noted. According to him, it is possible to block it should you have a one share more than the government has. “To do it it’s enough to gain over somebody from other minority shareholders, e.g. Goldman Sachs or Credit Suisse or buy the shares out from the market which is possibly already happening”, Sotov concluded.