Article by Olga Pleshanova in Advokatskaya Gazeta
An article was published in Advokatskaya gazeta with experts' explanations on the topic of when banks have the right to block clients' accounts, and in what situations such restrictions are illegal (unfounded, applied in violation of the procedure established by law, or even an abuse of rights).
Olga Pleshanova, Head of the Infralex Analytical Service, explained that the bank has the right to block a card (account) for the following purposes:
- combating money laundering and terrorist financing (the process of identifying suspicious transactions is regulated by Federal Law No. 115-FZ of August 7, 2001);
- combating fraud (if information about the client is in a special database of the Bank of Russia or the relevant information was received from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the bank is obliged to apply the measures provided for in Part 11.6 and 11.7 of Article 9 of Federal Law No. 161-FZ of June 27, 2011.
Based on these laws, internal documents of banks are developed, in accordance with which restrictive measures are applied - from refusing to open accounts to blocking them.At the same time, credit institutions are obliged to provide clients with complete and reliable information about restrictions, the reasons for their application and further actions - see the Letter of the Bank of Russia dated August 26, 2025 No. IN-01-59/98.
Olga also mentions the Methodological Recommendations of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, in which the Bank of Russia clearly distinguishes between the grounds for applying restrictive measures under Law No. 115-FZ and Law No. 161-FZ.
The expert cites individual cases from judicial practice in which banks interpreted the provisions of the above laws arbitrarily.
For example, case No. A40-224835/2024, in which the bank committed arbitrariness and did not document its decision to block accounts.
In the event of an unjustified blocking of an account, Olga recommends taking into account the Methodological Recommendations of the Bank of Russia and insisting on a thorough analysis taking into account all the circumstances and evidence.