The Bank of Cyprus has started notifying its Russian customers that their bank accounts will be closed within two months. Everyone involved is a tax resident in Russia, and the financial institution is involved in those who have income from an industry subject to sanctions in Russia. But holders of F-type residence permits, i.e. those who obtained a legal Cypriot visa by purchasing real estate in the country, are also affected. In addition, notices on the closure of accounts are sent to Russians who are in Cyprus on tourist visas, reported BFM.ru.
The process of closing accounts is likely to begin in many countries, as even states “friendly” to Russia are afraid of secondary sanctions, Oleg Abelev, head of the analysis department of Ricom-Trust, associate professor of the All-Russian Academy of Foreign Trade, told the portal.
In addition, the Bank of Cyprus leaves no loopholes either: accounts that belong to Cypriot companies, but whose ultimate beneficiary is a Russian individual or company, are also closed. The move in Cyprus is not an isolated case, some banks operating in the United Arab Emirates have recently reported something similar.
Earlier, Emirates NBD, the UAE’s second-largest bank, began sending letters to Russian clients warning them that if they were not residents of the EU, the European Economic Area or Switzerland, their assets would be transferred to a separate account where cash transfers would be restricted.
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