The regulator has shut down a scheme for withdrawing currency from Ukraine using U.S. bonds.

The National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC) has decided to prohibit the transfer of securities issued by foreign entities out of Ukraine starting January 1, and this ban will remain in effect until the end of martial law. This information was reported by the NSSMC's press service. The Commission stated that this decision aligns with the memorandum agreed upon with the IMF and has been coordinated with the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU). Transactions involving foreign securities are banned, except in the following cases: - Conducting corporate actions by the issuer; - Aligning the number of securities in the Central Depository’s accounts with data from international depository institutions. “For eight months, the Commission held numerous meetings as part of the negotiation process with the IMF and the NBU to find a satisfactory solution for the capital markets. We put in a lot of effort, and today’s decision represents a compromise, as there was a proposal on the table for a complete ban on the admission and trading of foreign securities in Ukraine,” stated NSSMC member Irakli Baramiya. Earlier, the Economic Pravda reported on this scheme, which involved investors purchasing U.S. government bonds in Ukraine for hryvnias and then instructing their brokers to transfer these bonds to a securities account in a foreign depository. When it came time for the bonds to mature, the investor would receive payment in U.S. dollars to their bank account abroad. Read more: Ukrainians are circumventing NBU currency restrictions through the U.S. government. Regulator's response.