The Bank of Russia has revealed a mechanism for the rehabilitation of citizens whose bank accounts were blocked due to suspected fraudulent transactions. The regulator admits that the financial transaction filtering system is not perfect and allows for erroneous blocking, however, it emphasizes that a significant part of the restrictions are imposed reasonably, and access to accounts will not be restored to everyone.
Vadim Uvarov, Director of the Information Security Department of the Bank of Russia, said that the regulator receives about a thousand requests daily from citizens who are faced with blockages. Most of the complaints come from young people between the ages of 15 and 24. According to him, cases of erroneous inclusion in databases do exist, but they are not widespread.
A key element of the new procedure was the possibility of official rehabilitation for those who were blocked without intent. The Central Bank emphasizes that the mechanism began operating on December 1 and assumes a step-by-step confirmation of non-involvement in illegal actions.
Vadim Uvarov explained that the first step for the victim is to apply directly to the Bank of Russia. After that, the citizen should be provided with information about exactly where the funds were stolen, to which accounts they were transferred, the number of the criminal case and the department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs conducting the investigation. Next, the applicant must independently contact the investigator and through him confirm his innocence of the crime. After that, the Ministry of Internal Affairs sends an official letter to the Central Bank, and only on the basis of this document can a decision be made to unblock the account.
In practice, as the victims themselves note, the process remains extremely complicated and protracted. David, a Moscow businessman, said that in a few months he had sent more than 20 requests to the Bank of Russia and about 85 requests to various departments of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the regions of the country.
"I received an answer that there is in Perm, in some area where my phone number is being investigated in a criminal case. I immediately gave them a request. But there's no way to get through there at all. I have written a request, but there is still no response. Why should I travel around the country and prove that I'm not to blame? It's amazing to me," he said.
Another victim, Andrey, a technology consultant, was able to receive an official response from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which stated that he was being investigated solely as a witness. However, even this did not lead to the restoration of access to the accounts.
"The Interior Ministry sent a reply to the Central Bank and indicated that I was a witness. But the Central Bank sent a formal response.: we can't help you in any way, contact the credit institution that initiated the blocking," he said.
In response to such situations, the Bank of Russia emphasizes that the rehabilitation mechanism has recently been operational, and all the terms and stages of the procedure are published on the official website of the regulator. Citizens who have previously encountered blockages are advised to contact the Central Bank again, taking into account the new rules.
Experts note that the launch of a formalized mechanism is a step forward in terms of transparency, but its effectiveness will depend on real coordination between the Central Bank, banks and law enforcement agencies. In the meantime, for many citizens, the process of restoring access to accounts remains protracted and resource-intensive.
