investments of scheme participant Zinchenko were estimated at 14 million rubles.
Lawyers interviewed by RBC see signs of market manipulation in the described episode (Article 185.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). "The scheme used is illegal. Economically, it leads to the artificial (manipulative) enrichment of one person at the expense of others (in this case, an individual enriched himself at the expense of the platform), and contains signs of actions to manipulate the market," explains Bunina.
Involving several russia whatsapp resourcepeople in the scheme only aggravates the liability, the expert continues. But if the transactions were made from the accounts of one person, the scheme would still be illegal, adds Maria Yakovleva, director of the legal group "Yakovlev and Partners". "Regardless of whether one or two accounts were used, the practice of artificially creating market conditions to obtain benefits is in itself a violation of the law. Using two accounts to make transactions aimed at misleading the market maker's algorithm aggravates the illegality of the actions, but the very essence of the manipulation would be illegal even if one account was used," she explains.
The current scheme is not unique or precedent-setting, although such cases are not very common, Bunina notes. The implementation options for the schemes are "modified" to take into account the technical barriers set by the exchange, market maker and other organizers, she explains.
A similar scheme has already been uncovered in Kazakhstan, with the same W-Empirical Holding Corp. as the injured party. Back in 2019, the Kazakhstani trader received $22.2 million in income by deceiving the market maker's algorithm using fictitious transactions with American securities, the Kursiv publication wrote. In July 2022, he was found guilty of fraud on an especially large scale (clause 2, part 4, article 190 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan) and sentenced to five years in prison. Part 4, article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, under which Kuleshov is accused, provides for up to ten years in prison.
"The wide publicity of this case will have a preventive effect against similar actions by other market participants," Bunina believes. But even a guilty verdict will not create new legal norms, since the concept of "precedent" is not typical for the Russian legal system, adds Gleb Boyko, a lawyer in the practice of sanctions law and compliance at NSP. "Although the emergence of some new approaches to individual issues is not excluded," the expert concludes.