The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) has postponed the implementation of its prohibition on Igor Gutinskiy, the sole director of Otkritie Broker Ltd, from exercising management duties at the Cyprus Investment Firm. According to a CySEC board decision dated 30 March 2026, the ban will now take effect on 11 April 2027, extending the implementation deadline by a further 12 months.
The decision marks the longest single extension granted by CySEC in this case and continues a series of delays that began in April 2023, when the regulator first announced its action against the Russia-linked brokerage firm. The original decision, taken in early March 2023, imposed a two-year ban on Gutinskiy from serving on the Otkritie Broker board, citing concerns about the influence exercised by Otkritie FC Bank on the firm's management.
Otkritie FC Bank, one of the largest commercial banks in Russia by assets, is the ultimate parent of Otkritie Broker Ltd through its wholly owned subsidiary Otkritie Broker JSC. The prohibition on Gutinskiy was initially scheduled to take effect six months after the March 2023 decision, around September 2023.
Pattern of Repeated Extensions
Since the original decision, CySEC has issued five separate announcements in October 2023, April 2024, October 2024, October 2025 and April 2026, each time granting an additional grace period before the ban comes into force. The previous extensions were issued in six-month increments, while the latest decision doubles the timeframe to a full year.
In an October 2024 announcement, CySEC stated that it would "continue to monitor the situation closely," but it has not publicly explained the rationale for the repeated postponements. The current extension means the two-year management ban will now begin nearly four years after it was first imposed.
Broader Regulatory and Sanctions Context
The Otkritie case forms part of a broader regulatory environment for Cyprus-based firms with Russian ownership ties. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, CySEC instructed all regulated entities to implement European Union restrictive measures on Russian-related individuals and companies. In August 2025, the regulator established a National Sanctions Implementation Unit under the Finance Ministry to enforce sanctions rules across all regulated firms, including CFD brokers.
As part of its original 2023 decision on Otkritie, CySEC also suspended the voting rights attached to Otkritie Broker JSC's shares in the Cyprus entity. This measure was intended to prevent individuals linked to Otkritie FC Bank from influencing shareholder decisions at Otkritie Broker Ltd.
Otkritie Operations in Cyprus and Enforcement Activity
Otkritie's presence in Cyprus has diminished over time. Otkritie Capital Cyprus voluntarily surrendered its CySEC licence in 2021 after the group decided to wind down its retail brokerage operations on the island. Otkritie Broker Ltd, however, continues to hold its Cyprus Investment Firm authorisation under licence number 294/16, which it has maintained since 2016. The firm provides investment advisory, brokerage and asset management services under the Open Broker brand.
The repeated deferrals of the management ban raise questions about the practical impact of the original enforcement decision. CySEC conducted more than 850 audits in 2024 and imposed €2.76 million in administrative fines on regulated entities. According to the latest CySEC decision notice, no judicial review has been filed in relation to the Otkritie case.
