MOSCOW, Feb 21 Reuters The Bank of Russia on Wednesday said it had revoked the banking licence of Qiwi Bank for engaging in what it described as highrisk operations, sending its Moscowlisted shares plummeting almost 50 to a record low.

The central bank, which has taken regulatory action against Qiwi five times in the last year, said Qiwi Bank had systematically violated requirements on antimoney laundering and terrorism financing legislation.

Qiwi Bank did not take effective measures to reduce risks in its activities, despite the Bank of Russia39;s active supervisory work, and continued conducting highrisk operations, the central bank said.

Nasdaqlisted Qiwi, a payment services provider, said it was aware of the revocation and that temporary administrators were currently working at the bank.

We understand that you have a lot of questions, Qiwi said on Telegram. We are looking into the situation and as soon as we have information about further actions, we will get back to you.

It said Qiwi Group39;s business, which is not related to Qiwi Bank, was operating as usual.

Qiwi Bank39;s Moscowlisted depositary receipts were down 44.7 as of 0917 GMT and reaching a record low.

The sharp drop prompted the exchange to repeatedly adjust the lower boundary for the shares and to hold a discrete auction of shares, a tool used to ease extraordinary volatility and allow a base price to be established.

Trading of its Nasdaqlisted American Depositary Shares has been suspended…