It was proposed to introduce negotiable penalties for MFIs for mass threats to debtors

It is proposed to introduce negotiable fines for mass violations of borrowers' rights by microfinance organizations (MFOs) and the use of illegal methods of "beating" money out of them (deception, threats, misleading, psychological pressure, slander, etc.), as well as to exclude such organizations from the state register of the Central Bank.

Oleg Pavlov, head of the Public Consumer Initiative, addressed the Cabinet of Ministers, the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank and the State Duma with such an initiative. The reason for this was the results of a joint study of the public and the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation MFO activity.

According to his data, in the microfinance sector of Russia there is still a wide use of various illegal, including criminally punishable techniques that are used to induce citizens to pay their debts. These include hacking into debtors' accounts, death threats, slander and others.

"The study shows that the growth of violations does not always correlate with the growth of MFI turnover and the number of attracted clients, which in some cases could be statistically justified," Gulnara Ruchkina, dean of the law faculty of the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, Doctor of Law, explained to Izvestia.

According to her, under the moratorium on inspections, a warning from supervisory authorities is one of the few available measures to respond to business violations and signs of such violations. The growing number of them may indicate that unfair practices are becoming an integral part of some companies' activities, she said.

"This certainly deserves the regulators' attention as to whether necessary measures should be taken, up to and including the introduction of negotiable fines and exclusion from the official register. Such sanctions will fulfill a preventive role, stimulating MFIs to reduce the number of violations," the expert believes.

Read more in the exclusive material of "Izvestia":

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