Moody’s assigns Ba2 rating to notes issued by Aries Vermцgensverwaltungs GmbH

Approximately EURO5 Billion of Debt Securities Affected.

On July 14 2004 Moody's Investors Service has assigned the following definitive long-term ratings to the debt issuance by Aries Vermцgensverwaltungs GmbH:

- Ba2 to the EUR 2,000,000,000 Series A Floating Rate Russian Federation Sovereign Credit-Linked Notes due October 2007;

- Ba2 to the EUR 1,000,000,000 Series B 7.75 per cent. Russian Federation Sovereign Credit-Linked Notes due October 2009;

- Ba2 to the USD 2,435,500,000 Series C 9.60 per cent. Russian Federation Sovereign Credit-Linked Notes due October 2014.

This transaction represents a credit-linked repackaging of certain debt arrangements between the Federal Republic of Germany and the Russian Federation that are restructured in the Paris Club forum.

The definitive ratings are based primarily on the indirect link to the performance by the Russian Federation of its payment obligations under certain indebtedness of the Russian Federation payable to the Federal Republic of Germany under the Paris Club arrangements; the obligations of the Federal Republic of Germany under the Paris Club Debt Participation Agreement; the obligations of Kreditanstalt fьr Wiederaufbau under the Reinvestment Agreement; and the governing legal structure.

Aries Vermцgensverwaltungs GmbH is a special purpose company incorporated with limited liability under the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany.