Cypriot banks will close the accounts of Russians who do not live on the island in two months. The money of 4,000 customers will be blocked, according to Phileleftheros.
Closing the accounts of Russians is not associated with sanctions, but with improving the reputation of the banking sector.
“A banking industry source with deep knowledge of banking policy said this development is ‘completely independent of sanctions.’ He also noted that these moves should come as no surprise,” the article said.
In previous years, banks have taken drastic measures to improve their reputation. From 2014 to 2020, 85,000 accounts of 40,000 people were closed in banks. The result was the loss of 70 million euros in the accounts. Of the 1,700 customers who professionally served foreign investors, banks said goodbye to 800.
According to the newspaper, the Cypriot banking system has come to the conclusion that it has behaved in a “strange way”.
“Either they were associated with businessmen who fell under the sanctions, or there were suspicious movements on certain accounts,” the situation commented, the publication concludes.
Since 2014, Cypriot banks have fully complied with US Treasury sanctions, although only EU and UN Security Council restrictions are mandatory for the sector. This is due to the international control mechanism of financial organizations that trade in dollars.
Earlier, German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock announced the end of sanctions against Russia. So far, the West has no intention of ending the policy of anti-Russian restrictions.
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