Alpari becomes a Licensed Forex Dealer in Russia

The central bank of the Russian Federation finalised its decision to issue Alpari Forex Ltd. with a license granting the company the right to conduct its activities as a Forex dealer throughout Russia¹. As such, Alpari is now an officially licensed Forex dealer on the Russian market. The total capital held by Alpari Forex Ltd. exceeds 100 million Russian roubles.

From the moment it was founded, Alpari has always campaigned for further transparency on the Russian Forex market and has actively participated in industry organisations such as NAUFOR, NAFD and The Financial Commission in cooperative work with executive and legislative organs of power to develop legislation which regulates the Forex market in Russia and in other countries where the brand has a presence.

In essence, today is the beginning of a long-awaited era of legal regulation for the over the counter currency market in Russia. The appearance of clear rules for conducting business will increase trust in market participants and the transparency of their work, facilitating openness and raising the level of legal protection for private investors and the companies themselves. The financial industry in Russia will receive renewed impulse for development and its participants will receive access to modern and high-tech products and services of an international level.

"We did much to make this happen and are delighted that Alpari Forex Ltd. has received Russian licensing. This will offer Alpari clients in Russia the opportunity to choose native jurisdiction when working on international financial markets and will offer them additional legal security. Today the Russian internet trading market continues its development, however much work lies ahead to help the market grow and become more attractive. In conjunction with the regulator, Alpari and other market participants will continue assist in its improvement. We anticipate that the Russian Forex segment has a worthy place waiting amongst other recognised jurisdictions," noted Alpari CEO, Boris Shilov.

At the end of 2014, the president of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, signed a law to regulate the over the counter Forex market in Russia. In October 2015, the majority of the provisions of this document came into effect. Since the beginning of 2016, all Forex dealers working in Russia are required to license their activities, openly providing account reports and information, in addition to becoming part of a self-regulating organisation. At the end of December, 2015, Alpari submitted its documents to the Russian central bank, and in August of 2016 the company resubmitted its application based on the feedback and comments it received from the bank; today receiving licensing to work within the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation.

According to research conducted by Interfax-CEA, Alpari has been the market leader in Russia by some way for five years running (from 2011 to 2015). In 2012, the company became the first Russian Forex broker to publish the operational indicators for its activities on its own initiative and remains the only company on the Russian market to do so continuously on a monthly basis.

About the Alpari Brand

Today Alpari is an influential, globally integrated brand, with its products, services and trademarks some of the most recognisable in the financial industry. Alpari provides its services to over one million clients from 150 countries and has over 80 offices throughout the world. In many countries, the Alpari brand dominates as market leader both by number of clients and by trading operations. Alpari's trading turnover for 2015 exceeded $1 trillion.

In 2012 the company had the ambitious idea to return the chess crown to Russia; becoming the first and key partner of the talented grandmaster Sergey Karyakin. Everything taking place at this very moment in the main chess match in New York is of great concern and of extreme importance for Alpari and Russian chess lovers. Years of close partnership have allowed Sergey to make real headways in his career, taking victories that have made waves at prestigious international matches. Today we are on the brink of the most important of such events and we believe that Sergey's talent, his hard work and perseverance will bring a much deserved victory, once again lifting the sporting and intellectual prestige of Russia.

Support for sporting initiatives is something Alpari has always championed and it will remain one of the company's key priorities. At different times, Alpari has been the sponsor of English Premier League football club West Ham United (London), the Russian national biathlon team, the World Match Racing Tour sailing regatta, the New York Knicks and New Jersey Nets basketball teams, New York Rangers hockey team, the world famous Madison Square Garden sporting arena (New York), the multi-time Russian football champions FC Zenit and FC Spartak. Moreover, since 2011, the brand has sponsored Energy rugby club from the Tatar republic. In 2012, Alpari sponsored the unique project, Alpari on top of the world. Since 2013, Alpari has been sponsoring the NRING racing circuit and in 2014 the company became part of the Tretyakov Gallery Friends' Society.

The social responsibility that the business places on itself is an important part of the Alpari philosophy. The Alpari Charitable Fund, founded in 2005, carries out successful support work in the Republic of Tatarstan, providing much needed aid to the socially disadvantaged, including: orphans, the disabled, large and low-income families. During the 10 years the fund has been operative, over 50 million rouble's worth of aid has been provided, over 400 events have taken place, over 400 children have had medical treatment paid for and over 4,100 families have received support.