In This Issue:

- p1 Russia Finally Establishes a Central Securities Depository Increasing Transparency in the Russian Securities Market

- p3 Enforcement Procedure for Pledged Property Modified

- p4 Investment Partnerships Now Recognized Under Russian Law, but the Disadvantages May Outweigh the Advantages

- p7 Russia Continues to Adopt New Anti-Bribery Measures

- p8 Russian Courts on Whether Corporate Disputes May be Subject to Arbitration

- p11 Jackson-Vanik Jeopardizes Competitiveness of U.S. Businesses in Russia

- p12 Legislative Update

- p13 Recent News

Excerpt from Russia Finally Establishes a Central Securities Depository Increasing Transparency in the Russian Securities Market

Russia’s ambitious goal of transforming the country into a leading global financial center by 2020 has finally gained momentum. Among the recent measures aimed at radically improving the investment climate in Russia is the Federal Law on the Central Securities Depository (the CSD). The CSD is a fundamental institution that has been lacking from the Russian securities market infrastructure, and has been long anticipated by Russian and foreign investors. Once the CSD Law (as defined below) comes into full force on July 1, 2012, it should help allay the fears of many investors by ensuring the transparency and finality of settlement of transactions with certain Russian securities. However, there is still considerable confusion surrounding the new system as we will discuss in this article.

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