On Wednesday, 28 August, a number of media outlets published information that banks may withdraw up to 20% of Ukrainians’ accounts. У National Bank of Ukraine claims that this is inaccurate information, reports [Kommersant].
on 28 August, the Minfin media outlet published an article titled “Ukrgaz, Abank, Oschad: who started collecting more fines from their clients”.
The article, in particular, stated that:
“…banks have recently started to apply a new type of financial penalty. Some banks classify it as a fine, while others call it an additional fee. Its size reaches 20% of the amount.
In other words, the financial institution charges the client a fifth of the amount in the account in its favour before closing it and kicking the person out the door. This is not a widespread phenomenon yet, but it is being gradually introduced by some institutions.”
A number of Ukrainian media outlets have reported this information with reference to the Ministry of Finance.
The news about fines and financial monitoring was also posted by well-known Ukrainian Telegram channels.
However, as the NBU explains, Ukrainians received not entirely correct information. The financial institution says that financial monitoring legislation does not provide for banks to impose any financial penalties on violators of financial monitoring rules and impose a “fine” for this.
In other words, banks do not have the right to impose penalties on individuals for violations in the area of financial monitoring.
At the same time, the The Law on Financial Monitoring provides for the obligation and right of the bank to terminate business relations with the client and stop servicing the client, including closing the client’s account, in cases specified by law.
In this case, the bank returns the funds to the customer in cash or by transferring them to another account using the specified details. The mechanism of refund by the bank is provided for in clause 6 of Annex 12 to the Of the Regulation on Financial Monitoring by Banks, approved by Resolution No. 65 of the Board of the National Bank of Ukraine dated 19.05.2020 (as amended). The bank may charge a standard fee for such payment transaction.
For its part, the National Bank of Ukraine does not impose any penalties on individuals for violations. All measures of influence of the regulator, including those in the field of financial monitoring, apply exclusively to financial institutions.
