One of Russia's largest investment funds, Khopyor-Invest, has suspended its operations for one month, citing the State Securities and Exchange Commission's refusal to grant the fund a license, a company official said Wednesday.


Khopyor-Invest has temporarily shut down most of its 73 offices across Russia as of Jan. 23, leaving 4 million investors unable to sell their shares for at least 30 days, the company spokeswoman said.


The spokeswoman, who refused to give her name, said the company would use the downtime "to restructure some of its branches." She said Khopyor-Invest had broken no regulations and that the commission's decision had come as a surprise for company managers.


"We don't understand why they didn't grant our license," she said.


The commission's move followed recent promises from top government officials to crack down on companies that fail to register shareholders and disclose financial information, both notable failures of the collapsed MMM fund.


First Deputy Prime Minister Anatoly Chubais sharply criticized Khopyor-Invest last month for failing to provide the authorities with details of its share issues and warned that "tough measures" could be taken against the company.


However, the Khopyor-Invest spokeswoman insisted Wednesday that her company had met all the government's requirements and should qualify for a license. "Our investors are registered, it's all absolutely legal," she said. "We hope the decision about our future will be made soon."


Like other Russian investment funds, Khopyor has lured investors largely by its aggressive but monotonous advertising campaign, in which pop singers and "ordinary Russians" incessantly drum that "Khopyor is an excellent company."