Russia has sanctioned a major online gambling payment processor just as the government is seeking to bring all online betting transactions under its own oversight. 

On Thursday, shares in Russia’s Qiwi Bank fell 12% on news that the Central Bank of the Russian Federation had prohibited Qiwi from making electronic payments on behalf of foreign merchants or facilitating transfers to prepaid corporate cards for a period of six months starting December 7.

The penalties, which included a RUB11m (US$150k) fine, were imposed following a Central Bank audit of Qiwi transactions with international firms between July 2018 and September 2020. The specific nature of these suspect transactions has yet to be disclosed. 

Qiwi issued a statement saying it was “in dialogue” with the authorities “to eliminate the identified violations, as well as negotiate a partial cancellation and reduce the level of restrictions imposed.” Qiwi estimated that up to 40% of its current payments revenue would be negatively impacted by the restrictions.