The NSSMC has launched international investigations for the first time in response to requests from foreign regulators

The National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC) has received its first official requests from foreign financial regulators under the IOSCO MMoU* and has launched investigations based on them. This happened just a few weeks after Ukraine joined the memorandum on cooperation and information exchange between capital market regulators — following almost 10 years of preparation.

In the first case, the NSSMC was asked to verify information about a specific individual and a company associated with them: whether they had been subject to inspections or investigations, and whether they met the requirements for good repute and professional suitability. The second request concerns whether a Ukrainian company holds licenses or permits issued by the NSSMC and whether it is connected to other companies and individuals mentioned in the request.

The NSSMC has already launched a separate investigation for each request and appointed responsible specialists. It has this authority under the Law on state regulation of capital markets.

In practice, the IOSCO MMoU gives regulators access to information that was previously almost impossible to obtain. This includes, in particular, the movement of funds through bank and brokerage accounts, information about their owners and, where necessary, the ultimate beneficial owners of companies. Without such a mechanism, a trail leading abroad would often become the endpoint of an investigation.

The NSSMC is not disclosing details of the cases — the countries, companies, or specific individuals involved. This is one of the conditions of the memorandum: information obtained under the IOSCO MMoU is confidential and may be used only for a specific investigation.

NSSMC Chairman Oleksii Semeniuk called this the first practical case following Ukraine’s accession to the IOSCO MMoU — an example of how international cooperation between regulators works not on paper, but as a day-to-day working tool.

*IOSCO MMoU is the key international document that brings together capital market regulators from more than 100 countries around the world.