A recent shocking story about how a Moscow Sberbank depositor was denied the issuance of her multimillion-dollar deposit received a fairly wide response in the Russian press. Having studied the problem in detail from all sides, including many similar stories from banking clients that have been repeatedly described in Runet, as well as explanations from specialists from the Bank of Russia, the Association of Russian Banks (ARB), the Federal Financial Monitoring Service, the interpretation of laws by well-known Moscow lawyers, our portal invites you to familiarize yourself with the conclusions following from the analysis of this rather diverse material.
Should I believe everything that is written on the Internet?
An active surge of emotions was noted on different information resources at about the same time. Moreover, all the latest stories on the topic of violation of the rights of depositors to freely dispose of their funds are very similar to each other. For example, the fact that they are united by the same bank. You can see that the very picturesque story of one offended contributor, originally posted on her page on the social network, was then repeatedly retold and supplemented with new expressive details by other people. However, specialists from the ARB and the Central Bank, who work with real complaints from citizens addressed to them, claim that they do not observe mass incidents that are unfavorable for bank account holders. Financiers offer to think about how much you can believe all the Internet stories from strangers? Will it be an impartial presentation of all the details of the conflict?
In addition, the current aggravation occurred against the backdrop of a difficult situation for the domestic economy - in fact, during a period of decline in the rate of attracting new banks by banks Money to their funds. Perhaps that is why the summary made by the contributors from the described event looks more like (according to the classification of experts from the ARB) to "panic speculation" that is so easy to intimidate the Russian layman, especially in times of crisis. That is, the bankers themselves deny the conclusions of some citizens that the branches of credit organizations (especially state-owned banks that have fallen under Western sanctions) deliberately do not issue large sums of money, in every possible way delaying the moment when they still have to satisfy the legitimate desire of the client to withdraw personal money from the bank.
Anti-money laundering law
But what then is the true cause of the problems of depositors whose rights are infringed in such a harsh way? After all, similar negative reviews have previously met both in life and on the Internet. Here, as they say, "the devil is in the details." Having carefully studied the complaints of citizens, we can say that each of them has his own story. However, they are all united by the bank's request for additional documents with reference to Law No. 115-FZ "On counteracting the legalization of proceeds from crime ...". Rosfinmonitoring and its agent, the Bank of Russia, monitor strict compliance with this standard by financial institutions (not just banks). By the way, one of the reasons for the annulment of the banking license by the Central Bank is the improper implementation of the anti-legalization law by the financial institution. That is why banks are so afraid of accusations of their own involvement in the dubious activities of their clients.
Moreover, the majority of bank capital owners who receive oral and written requests from the bank, of course, are not criminals or corrupt officials with illegal income. The bank is well aware that only a court can make an unambiguous conclusion about guilt. To refute its suspicions that the client is at high risk, the financial organization first studies some of its operations, including through documents provided by the consumer himself. Documents must confirm the existence of economic sense in the activities of the client. If we talk about the economic meaning of the activity of a private investor, then it is extremely transparent for those who have nothing to hide - the placement of funds on their accounts for their savings or accumulation. Money can be received as a salary or other legal income of an individual, such as dividends from business activities, rental payments from the surrender of personal property, the sale of large movable and immovable property, the transfer of a deposit amount from one bank to another, etc.
These sources of income can be simply documented, for example, by a sales contract, a 2NDFL, 3NDFL certificate, other agreements and certificates. Of course, the client can refuse to provide the bank with his confidential documents, because the 115-FZ standard does not oblige citizens to anything, and the responsibility for failure to comply with this particular Law lies only with financial organizations. But in practice, it turns out that it is in the interests of account users to compromise and satisfy the curiosity of banks, if it is caused by the implementation of the anti-money laundering Law.
We can recall examples of banking business abroad, where in the fight against criminal proceeds, the law-abidingness of depositors is even more strictly checked. For those who know that sometimes they ask for an incredible amount of the most unthinkable documents, collecting a whole evidence base. True, a feature of Western practice is a more thorough check of a potential client "at the entrance", and not at the time of withdrawing money from the account. However, the official request for a confirmed source of legal income unites both Russian and foreign reality.
Contradictions in the legislation
As for the above example with the Moscow depositor, then, according to her, the bank asked for slightly different documents confirming the further spending of funds that she tried to withdraw in cash. In this case, the sum was calculated by six zeros. By the way, it is quite possible that the case ended with the fact that the money belonging to the Muscovite was transferred by bank transfer back to the account from which it had been received earlier from another credit institution. In any case, in such situations, the bank does not keep “doubtful” money for a long time, trying to get rid of their problematic owners forever.
Let's try to figure it out. We found some explanations in interviews with representatives of the Bank of Russia and Rosfinmonitoring.
Law 115-FZ gives credit institutions the right to request any supporting documents from customers if there are doubts about the economic sense of the account holder's activities. The purpose of the question can be both a source of income and the targeting of further use of money. The amount of dubious transactions is not stipulated by the Law. And the lower limit is 600,000 rubles. concerns only mandatory control, which is not the same as the control of suspicious activities. But it is precisely regular transactions (that is, not one-time receipts and expenditures on the account), the total amount of which will be considered large, under certain circumstances, can already be called suspicious. Some of these circumstances are: an unknown source of income for the bank, the meaning of the client's activities incomprehensible to the bank, its ultimate goal, points of contact with other persons seen in dubious transactions.
Since the middle of last year, amendments have been made to Federal Law No. 115, according to which the bank is already legally obliged (and not just has the right) to refuse to carry out transactions for the client or close his account on his own initiative, or refuse to open a new account, but if "iron" evidence of his innocence. However, it is still against the law to refuse an individual's demand for their deposit to be released immediately, under any circumstances. This is directly stated in the Civil Code and other regulations.
Among other unpleasant consequences that credit institutions use in relation to their most dubious customers is the compilation of unofficial "black" lists. Once on such a list, a person (both an individual and a legal entity) will be prevented in every possible way from continuing any relationship with the bank. Moreover, if now “stop lists” are kept behind the scenes within each bank, then Rosfinmonitoring has recently prepared a bill, if adopted, banks will be given the “green light” to exchange lists among themselves quite openly and legitimately.
Another confirmation of the legal grounds to request additional documents from the depositor is the terms of interaction with the consumer, defined by the Rules for using the account / deposit (as an Appendix, inseparable from the agreement) in any modern bank. Conditions, by the way, under which the client puts his signature, agreeing to their execution. For example, in the Banking Rules individuals Sberbank of Russia has the following points:
- “The Bank has the right to completely or partially suspend operations on the account, as well as refuse to perform operations, with the exception of operations to credit funds ... including if the Bank suspects that the operation is being carried out in order to legalize (launder) proceeds from crime” ,
- “The Bank undertakes… to return, at the first request of the Client, the deposited funds together with the interest accrued in accordance with the terms of the Deposit Agreement.”
But on the other side, arbitrage practice challenging the actions of banks, in cases where credit institutions refer to their execution of 115-FZ, leaves priority to citizens. The bank's arguments are often recognized as unfounded, in accordance with Article 845 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. The final court opinion may contain the following wording: “the bank is not entitled to determine and control the directions of use of the client’s funds and establish other restrictions not provided for by law or the bank account agreement on its right to dispose of the funds at its own discretion.” True, one must understand that each case of a case being considered in court is purely individual, the evidence base and details of the dispute may be different, as well as the conclusion of the judge.
Step-by-step instruction
In case of trouble with the bank, we advise you to listen to the following recommendations. So, what to do if the bank does not pay the deposit:
- Firstly, if the bank makes requests for supporting documents even during the validity of the account / deposit agreement, then it is in your interests to fulfill such requests, especially if your sources of income are transparent, and subsequent actions with money are not dubious;
- Secondly, despite the rights of the depositor prescribed in the Civil Code to withdraw their money at the first request, the cash desk at the time of your arrival simply may not have the required amount. Therefore, when receiving a very large deposit, amounting to millions, it is still recommended to notify the bank of your intentions at least a day in advance, having previously learned whether additional documents are required;
- Thirdly, if your goal is to receive a deposit immediately, then a well-written written claim on the day of refusal, as well as oral negotiations with bank management, can quickly sober up overly zealous controllers. By the way, the bank will never confirm its refusal on paper;
- Fourthly, in case of refusal (even illegal) to issue a cash deposit, force the bank, for example, to accept a payment order from you for a cashless transfer of funds to another bank. By the way, if you need money to buy expensive property (car, apartment), then your seller-recipient of funds may well agree to accept a non-cash transfer to their details.
Read more about how to effectively deal with the injustice of bankers and what other rights of depositors are most often violated by credit institutions in our section “Advice to Depositors”.
Oksana Lukyanets, expert at Vkladvbanke.ru
A bank may stop lending money to depositors for various reasons, but what should people do in this case who have entrusted their funds to a financial institution? Ilshat Yangirov, Head of the Bank of Russia's Main Directorate for the Central Federal District, answered the most important questions on this topic.
What if the bank refuses to pay?
In the event that the operating bank refuses to issue money, the depositor may apply to the court, at the same time filing a petition for the arrest of the property of the financial institution in the amount of the deposit amount. It is likely that it will be possible to sue all invested funds with interest.
If the Central Bank has revoked a bank's license or imposed a moratorium on satisfying creditor claims, the procedure depends on whether the financial institution is a member of the insurance system. If yes, then you can count on compensation from the Deposit Insurance Agency (DIA).
How can investors find out about the appointment of an interim administration?
The corresponding order of the Central Bank is published in the official publication of the regulator - the Bulletin of the Bank of Russia. In this magazine, as well as in Rossiyskaya Gazeta and on the website of the Central Bank, the provisional administration posts a message with bank details, address and other information.
When contacting the provisional administration, it is not enough to indicate the amount of the deposit and interest, you will have to confirm the validity of the requirements with original documents or their certified copies.
If the provisional administration considers the claims to be justified, it will enter the depositor into the register of creditors' claims within 30 days. Within the same month, he will be notified of inclusion or non-inclusion in the register. In the event that a claim is partially recognized, only the recognized amount is added to the register.
Where and when are deposits issued?
Compensation to depositors of banks that are included in the deposit insurance system is handled by the DIA. The register of claims is formed in the financial institution within 7 days after it loses its license and is transferred to the DIA. The insurance agency publishes information within 7 days, notifying people where to apply for reimbursement. The DIA also informs each contributor about this by an individual letter. Citizens' applications are usually accepted by banks authorized by the agency. Payments begin 14 days after the license is withdrawn from the bank.
With the requirement to return the money, the investor can apply while the bankruptcy proceedings are underway, which takes about a year and a half. If the Central Bank has introduced a moratorium on satisfying the claims of creditors, then there is time until the end of the moratorium. The situation is not hopeless, and when the deadline is up, you just have to prove that the time was lost for a good reason.
What is the procedure for receiving insurance compensation?
After filling out the application form, the money is given to the person for whom the deposit was opened. The upper limit of mandatory compensation is 1.4 million rubles. If a bank in liquidation has several deposits opened by one depositor, he is still unlikely to receive more than this amount. Therefore, wealthy citizens try to place their millions in several financial institutions.
How realistic is it to return the balance of the deposit if more than 1.4 million rubles were placed?
Much depends on the reason for the liquidation of the bank. If it is not bankruptcy and the financial institution has funds to settle with creditors, the balance can be collected after the DIA payments are over. Otherwise, most likely, you will have to be content with the compensation of the insurance agency.
The bank stopped lending money to depositors. The reasons may be different, but for the depositors themselves, the main question is: how to return the money? Ilshat Yangirov, head of the Main Department of the Bank of Russia for the Central Federal District, answered the questions of RG.
What should a depositor do if the bank refuses to issue money on deposits?
Ilshat Yangirov: If the operating bank refuses to issue money, the depositor has the right to apply to a court of general jurisdiction, at the same time filing a petition to seize the bank's property in the amount of the deposit amount. In addition, for the late return of the deposit, the court may hold the bank liable: accrue interest on the use of other people's money, which the bank will also have to pay to the depositor.
1 million people applied last year for a refund of their lost deposit
The key point is whether the bank is a member of the deposit insurance system. If yes, then you need to apply to the Deposit Insurance Agency (DIA) with a claim for reimbursement of the deposit. The reason for this is one of two insured events provided for by law: either the Bank of Russia revoked the license to carry out banking operations, or introduced a moratorium on the bank to satisfy creditors' claims.
In both cases, within two weeks, the DIA publishes in the press, on the bank's website, and also posts a message on the premises of the bank itself, where to apply for depositors to receive insurance. In addition, the DIA is obliged to inform each depositor of this by an individual letter. The letter is sent by Russian Post to the address specified in the client's agreement with the bank. At the same time, the message can be sent by e-mail or SMS, if the contract provides for such methods of communication. Therefore, it is very important that the client notifies his bank in time about the change of address, phone number, e-mail address and other details.
How can bank depositors find out that a temporary administration has been appointed in the bank?
Ilshat Yangirov: The order of the Bank of Russia on the appointment of a provisional administration is published in the Bulletin of the Bank of Russia within 10 days from the date of its publication.
The provisional administration places in Rossiyskaya Gazeta and the Bulletin of the Bank of Russia a message with details, the address of the bank and information about the provisional administration. This information is also posted on the Internet on the website of the Bank of Russia (www.cbr.ru) in the "Press Releases" section.
When submitting claims to the debtor bank, it is necessary not only to indicate the amount of the deposit along with interest, but also to attach original documents or their certified copies confirming the validity of the claims.
If the provisional administration recognizes the depositors' claims as justified, it enters them into the register of creditors' claims within 30 days. Within the same period, the depositor is notified of inclusion in the register or refusal, if the claim is not recognized. There are times when a claim is not fully recognized. Then only the recognized part of it is included in the register.
Where and when can I get my contribution?
Ilshat Yangirov: Depositors of banks participating in the deposit insurance system are handled by the DIA.
The register of depositors' claims is formed in the bank within seven days after the license is revoked and sent to the DIA. Then, within seven days from the date of receipt of the register, the DIA publishes in the Bulletin of the Bank of Russia and the media information on where you can apply for a refund, what is the procedure for accepting such applications. The DIA also informs each contributor about this by an individual letter. As a rule, applications are accepted by agent banks acting on behalf of the DIA.
Payments to depositors must begin no later than 14 days after the revocation of the license or the introduction of a moratorium. The investor can apply for the payment of money during the entire period of bankruptcy proceedings (usually it lasts about one and a half years). And if the Bank of Russia introduces a moratorium on satisfaction of creditors' claims - until the expiration date of the moratorium.
What should I do if a depositor has missed the deadline for filing a claim for reimbursement of deposits?
Ilshat Yangirov: He can be included in the register of creditors by the decision of the board of the DIA. According to the Law "On insurance of deposits of individuals in banks of the Russian Federation", valid reasons in such a situation are the depositor's illness, confirmed by medical documents, conscription service in the army or stay in military units, as well as emergencies and other force majeure circumstances.
How is insurance compensation received?
Ilshat Yangirov: The procedure is as simple as possible. It is only necessary to fill out an application in a special form, as well as take an identity document with which you opened Bank deposit(check).
If for some reason the depositor cannot come to the office of the agent bank in person, the application can be sent by mail. Payments can also be received by postal order.
The depositor is paid compensation: today - no more than 1.4 million rubles, including interest. If the depositor has several deposits in one bank, the amount of which exceeds 1.4 million rubles, he will also receive no more than this amount. But if deposits are in several banks and their licenses are revoked, then the amount of insurance compensation for each bank is calculated separately. Therefore, it is advantageous to divide large amounts and place them in several banks.
If the deposit is more than 1.4 million rubles, is some of the money lost?
Ilshat Yangirov: The depositor can expect to return the entire amount of the deposit if the bank with the revoked license has enough funds to satisfy the requirements of creditors (that is, if the bank is being liquidated not due to bankruptcy). Then he will receive the missing part (after DIA payments) upon liquidation of the bank. I remind you that depositors are creditors of the first priority. If the bank is bankrupt, then it will not be possible to return everything. In this case, depositors can only count on DIA payments.
It should be remembered that the amount of the depositor's obligations to the bank, if any, is deducted from the amount of insurance payments. For example, if a depositor, in addition to a deposit in the amount of 1.4 million rubles, also has a loan for 1 million rubles in the same bank, then the compensation in the end will be 400 thousand rubles.
If there is both a deposit and a loan
Some people think that if the bank goes bankrupt, they will be very lucky - there will be no one to return the loans taken.
Ilshat Yangirov: The revocation of the license from the bank does not mean at all that the loan can not be paid. The borrower retains the obligation to fulfill its obligations to the bank under the concluded agreement. However, it should be noted that the details for repaying the loan may change.
So, during the period of the temporary administration (that is, after the revocation of the license and before the appointment of a bankruptcy trustee by the court), the details for repaying the debt, as well as other information for borrowers, can be clarified on the bank's website. After the bankruptcy trustee is appointed, the details for repaying the debt may also change. If the DIA is appointed as the bankruptcy trustee, the details are posted on the DIA website in the "Liquidation of banks" section.
If the borrower has a deposit in a bank with a revoked license, then by law the amount of the insurance payment is reduced by the amount of the debt to the bank. For example, a client has a deposit of 350,000 rubles and a loan, the balance of which is 50,000 rubles. In this case, the depositor will be paid 300,000 rubles of insurance compensation. At the same time, he must continue to repay the loan (according to the schedule or ahead of schedule) and will be able to receive the balance of the deposit when he repays the loan.
If the amount of the debt to the bank is greater than the amount of the deposit (the loan is 1 million rubles, and the deposit is 400 thousand rubles), then the insurance compensation can be received only after the full repayment of the loan or assignment of rights on this debt. At the same time, the legislation does not allow repaying part of the loan in a bank with a revoked license at the expense of a deposit in the same bank: "Repayment of creditors' claims by offsetting claims in the course of bankruptcy proceedings in the event of bankruptcy of credit organizations is not allowed" (clause 31, article 189.96 of the Law "On insolvency (bankruptcy).
Sberbank is a sought-after financial institution in our country. It offers favorable conditions for cooperation in various areas. The presence of branches and ATMs throughout Russia proves the fact that every second resident prefers this particular bank. All these obvious advantages are overshadowed by the fact that Sberbank has recently been legally entitled not to issue cash to a client. This innovation caused a lot of dissatisfaction and indignation on the part of citizens who are served by this financial institution.
Such cases when Sberbank does not give money to a client on a deposit began to occur since 2015. The restriction on cash withdrawals and their transfers applies only to transactions of large amounts of money, ordinary payments, including salaries, do not fall under these actions of the bank. The receipt of funds to the account that exceed the established limit, Sberbank may also suspend the possibility of performing any operations.
The procedure for refusing to issue cash to a Sberbank client began in 2015. This case received wide publicity thanks to the story of a Russian citizen who was served by Sberbank. He transferred 56,000,000.00 rubles from a personal account of one bank to another in Sberbank. He then expressed a desire to withdraw this amount. In a financial institution, the client was denied this, due to suspicions of obtaining these amounts in an illegal way. The bank's specialists asked the visitor to submit documents confirming the legitimacy of the money. But he refused, and instead decided to split the funds and put them in several non-long-term deposits, also in Sberbank.
After the completion of the established deadlines for deposits, the client risked trying again, but Sberbank again refused to issue cash. After that, the citizen decided to go to court so that Sberbank would not prevent him from withdrawing cash from his account. The lawsuit also demanded that Sberbank pay interest and provide material compensation. The court sided with Sberbank, which refused to issue money without providing the necessary documents.
Sberbank at the legislative level, relying on legal norms, reserves the right to choose how to issue the client his own money: in cash or non-cash. The Supreme Court of Russia also supported Sberbank in this decision.
In such situations, you can transfer your funds to another bank and withdraw through their branch. But the interest for the transfer of such large amounts is not less than 5 percent. Commission fees are one of the main sources of income in many banking organizations.
Another way to get around this limitation is to terminate cooperation with the credit institution and terminate the agreement with it. The bank will be required to close all accounts and issue funds in cash or non-cash. Sberbank will no longer be able to influence decisions on how to receive these finances, since the citizen will no longer be their client. But this option is also risky, since the client may be blacklisted by the banking system. This will mean that he will be denied access to all banking services.
To avoid possible difficulties in the future, you should know the main reasons why the bank can refuse to issue cash. This will avoid many difficulties in the future.
Reasons why a bank may refuse to issue money
Recently, Russian legislation has approved a law that empowers banks to require documents from customers confirming the legality of the origin of money. This was done to combat various types of fraudulent transactions in which funds are transferred from one account to another.
Also, the bank may refuse to receive cash for the following reasons:
- The amount requested by the client exceeds the limit set on the Sberbank bank card.
- Request for a large sum of money. The bank, without receiving supporting documents on the legitimacy of the money, has the right to freeze the account or refuse to issue.
Blocking a client's account for various reasons:
- Arrest of the account by employees of the Federal Bailiff Service.
- If the client is suspected of fraudulent or other illegal transactions.
- Incorrect provision of information.
What to do if Sberbank refuses to issue cash
If difficulties arise, it is necessary to carefully analyze the situation, and then develop a sequence of measures and stick to them. The action plan should be as follows:
- Finding out the reasons on the basis of which the bank refuses the service. If the refusal occurs due to the arrest of the account, then it will be necessary to deal with the bailiffs themselves.
- After excluding the arrest, an appeal to the leaders of Sberbank, and drawing up an application for blocking the account and the inability to receive cash.
- After finding out the reasons, the manager will give an answer. If the reason is to exceed the established limit, then you will simply need to indicate a smaller amount to receive. And so get the entire amount in several approaches. If there are suspicions of fraudulent transactions, the bank will require documentary evidence to confirm their legitimacy.
- After all clarifications, Sberbank can independently decide to unblock accounts and open access to cash. Or financial institution appeals for a decision to higher instances, that is, to the court.
- If these actions do not give a result, the client must apply to the prosecutor's office with a statement about the illegal blocking of the account.
- If the outcome of the case is positive, after the prosecutor's check, the bank will be obliged to unblock the account and issue the requested funds.
Important. If the funds are obtained legally, and there are no other attendant circumstances, then the client will be able to withdraw cash and make cash and non-cash transactions.
It is only necessary to confirm the basis for receiving funds. Such documents may be sales contracts, certificates 2-NDFL.
Features of going to court
If, nevertheless, difficulties arise and litigation cannot be dispensed with, then the client of Sberbank must file a lawsuit. When applying to the court, the necessary list of documents is provided:
- A statement of claim, indicating his requirements and a description of what results he wants to receive after the completion of the proceedings.
- Copy of applicant's passport.
- A copy of the agreement for opening an account with Sberbank and other related information on the client's account.
- Documents confirming the ownership of the blocked funds by the client to the plaintiff, i.e. the client of Sberbank. In rare cases, testimonies can also become evidence in this matter.
- Extract from the current account of Sberbank. It should indicate the amounts and dates of income and expenditure transactions.
When applying to the judicial authority, specialists may request additional documents, depending on the circumstances of the alleged case. After the application is accepted and the document is registered, the date of the court session is set.
On the day of the hearing, the client will have to prove the illegality of the decision of Sberbank to refuse to issue him funds. The plaintiff can use as evidence base any sources of information that will be obtained legally and without offense. Financial institution, i.e. the defendant has the right to defend himself also by any means that do not contradict the law Russian Federation.
After considering the evidence of both parties, the court makes a decision in favor of one of the parties. At the end of the hearing, both the plaintiff and the defendant receive an order. If a decision is made in favor of the plaintiff, then the unblocking of the account must be carried out precisely on the basis of this court decision. The court sets a specific period of time for the implementation of the necessary measures.
Important. But we must remember that all of the above written will be relevant only after the entry into force of the verdict. Each such case is individual and must be considered by the court with special care.
Sberbank can legally block a client's account if more than 1,500,000.00 rubles are credited to his account at a time. This will not depend on the sources of payment receipts or other circumstances.
If the client requests from the bank more than 600,000.00 rubles, then in this case the financial institution has the right to refuse it.
To avoid unforeseen situations related to the withdrawal and transfer of large funds, you should consult before making transactions. Advice can be obtained directly from Sberbank branches, or from other special companies providing legal and consulting services.
