Russia proposes freezing bank accounts based on partial identity matches

Rosfinmonitoring, the Russian financial monitoring authority, has proposed expanding regulations that allow for the freezing of bank accounts. Under the new proposal, banks could suspend transactions for five working days if a client's data only partially matches information on the official list of “terrorists and extremists.”

Currently, banks are required to freeze the accounts of individuals explicitly listed on the Rosfinmonitoring registry within 24 hours. The proposed amendments to Russia's anti-money laundering laws aim to close a legislative loophole that authorities claim allows targeted individuals to evade restrictions by using variations of their names or other identifying information.

The existing list contains over 15,000 individuals, including figures such as Telegram founder Pavel Durov and author Boris Akunin. If the amendments are adopted, Rosfinmonitoring will establish the specific criteria used to determine what constitutes a partial data match.