Exit fee: banks delay closing accounts for up to six months
Banks are greatly delaying the closure of Russian accounts — sometimes it takes months and even up to a year, Izvestia found out. Citizens complain about this en masse, such cases have become more frequent due to increased monitoring of suspicious transactions. Moreover, account closure is often critically important for the client. After it is blocked under the anti-money laundering law, this is the only way to get the money back if the bank does not lift the freeze for a long time. At the same time, market participants have reason not to trust customer complaints, because the first thing droppers do is contact all authorities, the Central Bank noted. What to do if a credit institution does not allow you to close an account is in the Izvestia article.
Why banks delay closing accounts and how to get your money back
Banks are delaying Russians from closing accounts and refunding funds for up to six months, Izvestia found out. By law, the money must be returned to the client no later than seven days after submitting the application, but in practice this process often stretches for months, said Vladimir Chernov, analyst at Freedom Finance Global. Technically, they have the right to do so, as long as they check questionable transactions. And there is no time limit, even if a person remains without money in the account for a year.
The number of complaints about such cases has increased recently, said Natalia Arkhipova, an expert at the Association for the Development of Financial Literacy (ARFG). Clients are trying to close accounts due to blockages on suspicion of money laundering or terrorist financing (115-FZ). This is the only way for them to get the money back if the bank does not lift the freeze for a long time. Until this process is completed, people remain completely without access to their savings, which can amount to hundreds of thousands of rubles. There are more such blockages because banks are legally required to filter questionable transactions.
In practice, the account can be closed for several weeks or even months, Natalia Arkhipova explained. There are delays of up to a year, but such situations are associated with particularly complex cases: high turnover, document inconsistencies, and the need to double-check counterparties. For most clients, everything is solved faster.
Problems are found in different banks. At MTS Money, instead of the 45-47 days promised by the financial institution, account closure is sometimes delayed for two to four months or longer, according to the reviews of the <url> national rating. In OTP Bank, the closing time may initially exceed 47 days, although by law this must be done earlier.
One of Alfa-Bank's clients has been unable to close an account for years, as the credit institution continues to charge him with debt for servicing and notifications, the review says. At VTB and Sovcombank, customers were faced with a refusal to close an account from the bank without explaining the reasons. Izvestia sent inquiries to representatives of the banking sector.
— A delay of more than seven days is beyond the law, and such actions can be challenged through the Central Bank or in court. But banks hide behind the norms of 115-FZ, stating that the account cannot be closed before the end of the audit," said Vladimir Chernov.
Banks are afraid of sanctions for violating the "anti-money laundering" legislation and prefer to be safe, the analyst explained.
Nevertheless, one of the reasons for the long account closure period may be the peculiarity of card payments, the press service of the Central Bank told Izvestia. The actual calculations are sometimes carried out much later than the payment itself. The bank may not close the account until the transaction is finalized.
What to do if the bank refuses to close the account
Delaying the closure of the account may be an attempt to retain the client (especially if he also has a loan or deposit), explained Vladimir Chernov. In such cases, financial institutions require the client's personal presence and additional statements.
Banks receive large revenues from the movement of funds between accounts, experts explained. In principle, market participants are not interested in losing customers and income, so delaying the withdrawal of funds may be beneficial for them.
However, delays are now more often caused by inspections, the ARFG concluded. The unblocking of accounts is delayed due to an increase in the number of financial frauds, said Alexander Bleznekov, head of the information security department of the Telecom Exchange. The flow of verification operations has increased dramatically, which increases the burden on banks' security services. However, the tightening of measures is inevitably accompanied by an increase in the number of complaints from bona fide customers who have been blocked due to formal signs.
— At the same time, the bank does not block the account at will. He does this by decree of Rosfinmonitoring (115-fz) or as part of anti-fraud procedures at the request of law enforcement agencies," explained Alexandra Pozharskaya, an expert at the Popular Front for Borrowers' Rights project.
According to her, the client will be able to return his funds only when he proves that he is not a dropper — that he does not receive money from scammers to help them cash them out. Therefore, the speed of unblocking an account depends on how quickly it provides the bank with evidence of the legality of the movement of funds in the account.
Droppers are bank customers who provide their cards for cashing out money or making transfers in favor of shady businesses or other illegal transactions. These can be funds from victims of fraudsters, money from drug shops, crypto exchanges and pirate sites.
At the same time, banks have reason to distrust customer complaints. The fact is that shadow businesses that use fake drop accounts for their calculations always indicate in their internal "manuals" that if the dropper's account is blocked, the first thing to do is to send complaints to all authorities according to a well-prepared scenario and try to unblock their illegally obtained funds as soon as possible., explained in the press service of the Central Bank.
Bona fide clients have mechanisms to protect their rights, Vladimir Chernov reminded. In the application for closing the account, it is important to refer to the provisions of the law on the seven-day deadline for such an operation. If the process is delayed, you can contact the Central Bank or Rosfinmonitoring with a copy of this document. In extreme cases, the bank's decision can be influenced through the court and the requirement to terminate the account opening agreement, as well as to recover losses for withholding funds.
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