Stock Alert: Qiwi Tanks 20% After Central Bank Of Russia Imposes Restrictions

(RTTNews) - Shares of Qiwi plc (QIWI) are slipping about 20% on Thursday morning after Central Bank of Russia imposed restriction on Qiwi Bank JSC operations after inspection.

QIWI is currently trading at $10.94, down $2.65 or 19.50%, on the Nasdaq.

Qiwi, together with its subsidiaries, operates electronic online payment systems primarily in the Russia, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Belarus, Romania, the United Arab Emirates, and internationally.

From July to December 2020, the Central Bank of Russia performed a routine scheduled audit of Qiwi Bank for the period of July 2018 to September 2020 and identified certain violations related to reporting and record-keeping requirements.

CBR imposed a fine of 11 million rubles or about $150,000 based on its findings.

The CBR also introduced certain restrictions with respect to Qiwi Bank's operations, including the suspension or limitation of most types of payments to foreign merchants and money transfers to pre-paid cards from corporate accounts.