Georgian bank threatens to close accounts due to sanctions against Russia

The largest Georgian bank, TBC, sent out a warning to customers about closing accounts in case of violation of sanctions against Russia.In 2022, the Russians had problems with accounts in the Bank of Georgia

The largest bank in Georgia, TBC, has sent out a warning to customers about closing accounts in case of violation of sanctions against Russia, according to a message on the website of the financial institution. The receipt of such a mailing was confirmed to RBC by one of the bank's clients with a Russian passport.

The bank recalled that in February 2022, the US , EU and UK imposed restrictions on Moscow, which affect the operations and transactions of individuals and legal entities. Sanctions include, in particular, freezing of assets, restriction of access to financial resources, export restrictions. “Please note that if the bank detects a transaction in violation of the sanctions, it reserves the right to close the client’s accounts without prior notice,” the message says.

In December 2022, Paper Kartuli wrote that dozens of Russians faced the closure of accounts at the Bank of Georgia. The publication provided a screenshot of the client’s correspondence with the support service, in which the employee explains this as “the internal policy of the bank.”

Nikolai Levshits, a Russian blogger living in Georgia, also reported on the “forced closure of accounts” of citizens of Russia and Belarus on his Telegram channel. According to him, the measure affected accounts opened from three months to four years ago. Citizens of "many countries" faced their closure, Levshits wrote. The reason was, among other things, transactions with crypto-currencies, suspicious activity and “doubtful” transfers. Bank of Georgia media relations manager Nini Popkhadze, in a conversation with Sputnik Georgia, referred to "the policy and decision of the bank." A bank representative told Kommersant that the closure of accounts affected some customers "regardless of their citizenship."

Last week, the Main Partner Trust, which provides legal, financial and accounting services in Cyprus, reported that Bank of Cyprus, the largest bank in Cyprus, began to send notices of account closures to customers. The reasons given were Russia's tax residency, income from sanctions business, remote work for Russian companies, and an "atypical" residence permit. Later, the bank clarified to RBC that about 4,000 clients with a Russian passport received the notification. We are talking about citizens who are not residents of EU countries. In total, as of December 31, 2022, only 3% of deposits in the Bank of Cyprus belonged to clients from Russia and Belarus.