Card number: families of SVO fighters ask for easier access to blocked accounts
The participants of the SVO and their families asked the Central Bank to arrange for them a simplified way to remove the locks that banks automatically do when they suspect fraudulent activities. Izvestia was told about this in the legal service of the Committee of Families of Soldiers of the Fatherland — this organization sent a letter to the Central Bank. It notes that due to the freezing of transfers, military families find themselves without funds. Public activists are asking to adapt the procedure for unblocking accounts for military personnel on the front line. The Central Bank promised to consider the appeal, noting that a number of proposed measures have already been introduced. About how possible it is to introduce special mechanisms for defrosting cards and accounts, see the Izvestia article.
How funds are blocked
The Committee of Families of Soldiers of the Fatherland asked in an appeal to the Central Bank to introduce an operational mechanism for unblocking personal accounts, bank cards and transfers for members of the SVO and their families. The letter is at the disposal of Izvestia. We are talking about the blockages that were made as part of anti-fraud measures — upon suspicion of fraudulent activities.
The letter says that the committee has started receiving such complaints regularly.
"A typical situation is when a serviceman reports the blocking of his personal account and all cards in the salary bank, through which he sends funds to his spouse and child. Contacting the hotline does not give results: the applicant is informed of the need to personally appear at the office with a passport, which is objectively impossible when he is on the front line," the example is given in the appeal.
Three similar cases are described. So, the mother of a serviceman from the Vladimir region reported the blocking of the card, which receives a cash allowance. "The fighter contacted the bank by phone," she writes. "They replied that there were other receipts from individuals to this card and it was necessary to account for these receipts."
The wife of another serviceman from the Omsk region said that her husband was on the front line, and his personal account in the bank was blocked.
"There is no power of attorney. A family without means of subsistence, with minor children. I don't know where to run or what to do," the woman writes.
And the wife of a fighter from the Chelyabinsk region and the soldier himself tried to reissue the card after blocking it, but without success. Then the woman, who had a general power of attorney from her husband, tried to withdraw funds from the account or unlock the card, but she was refused twice.
"The lack of adapted procedures for military personnel who are physically unable to report to the department leads to socially sensitive consequences," the committee's letter to the Central Bank says. —The families of the participants in the SVO actually find themselves without access to money for basic needs, and given that the income of a serviceman is often the only source, the families find themselves in a very difficult situation."
What the social activists suggested
The NGO asked the regulator to develop and introduce an operational unblocking algorithm.
"We ask you to recommend that credit institutions accept, for the purpose of restoring access, a notarized power of attorney or a power of attorney certified by the commander (chief) of a military unit at locations where there are no notary offices," the committee suggested.
Public activists also suggest confirming the status of a serviceman with a certificate of participation in the CBR: "We ask you to take into account and recommend that banks use as an official confirmation of the status a document provided for by a government decree — a certificate confirming the fact of participation in the CBR."
It is also proposed to recommend that banks, when anti-fraud signs are triggered, apply not only full blocking, but also an intermediate safe mode, in which money and wages are credited, and transfers are allowed only to pre-confirmed trusted banking details, for example, to the spouse or legal representative of the fighter's child.
The Bank of Russia reported that the regulator had received the committee's appeal and would consider it.
"We are very attentive to the appeals of citizens on the issues of "blocking". Last year, we recommended that banks explain in detail and clearly to customers why remote service is limited or account transactions are suspended. Banks are also advised to give a person step-by-step instructions on what to do in such a situation. Our monitoring confirms that banks are following these recommendations," the response says.
The Central Bank also noted that it is already possible to remotely appeal the restrictions on the card. A citizen can send such an appeal not only to his credit institution, but also to the Bank of Russia.
"It should be noted that the mechanism for applying notarized powers of attorney and equivalent powers (in particular, powers of attorney certified by the commander (chief) of a military unit) already exists and can be used by military personnel," the Central Bank said.
And in one of the banks mentioned in the appeal, Gazprombank, Izvestia was informed that, as part of the anti-fraud, the credit institution never blocks accounts.
"At the same time, temporary restrictions may be imposed on operations, for example, on transferring funds using specific banking details, or withdrawing cash from an ATM in excess of a certain amount. But such measures do not constitute account blocking," they added. — Restriction of operations is allowed solely for the purpose of countering unauthorized actions. Let us remind you that the bank has remote ways to solve these situations."
Is it possible to introduce an operational mechanism
Theoretically, the creation of a special status of a family member of a member of the CBR for banks at the current state of technology does not seem impossible, says Elena Avakian, adviser to the Federal Chamber of Lawyers of Russia, head of the digital transformation of the Russian Bar.
— But from the point of view of digital fraud, such citizens will be perceived by scammers as a more tasty target. By solving the issue of speed, we weaken the resistance line," she explained. — I would like to remind you that blockages are part of an anti—fraud package, their purpose is to protect citizens, not banks.
The participants of the SVO and their families have already been recognized by the legislation as a separate category with special rights to support, said Evgenia Bezmalenko, lawyer and mediator, member of the International Association of Lawyers and Mediators 4legal.
— The concept of "family members" is legally defined and includes spouses, children, parents and dependents. This creates a legal basis for making changes to regulations," she said. — In order to create a preferential procedure, amendments will be required to the federal law "On Countering Money Laundering", which is the main reason for blocking suspicious transactions, and to the Bank of Russia regulations governing internal control in credit institutions.
But Yevgenia Bezmalenko also believes that any simplification of the procedure carries risks, as fraudsters may try to imitate the status of a serviceman in order to circumvent control. However, simplification could not apply to all suspicious transactions, but, for example, repeated transfers to the same banking details (for example, to pay for housing and communal services, children's education) or income from government agencies (salaries, benefits).
Daniil Bazylev, Managing Partner of Sakura Legal law firm, also believes that speeding up the unlock mode will reduce the level of security.
"But given the political situation in the country and the context of events in general, I think that banks can tacitly soften their security policy towards the military," he suggested.
Nevertheless, the managing partner of YRL Group, Semyon Nikolaev, called the initiative of the Committee of Families of Soldiers of the Fatherland timely and correct.
"As we see from our practice, the application of sanctions against a citizen is not always lawful and justified, and banks often abuse their powers," he said.
In his opinion, it is possible to simplify the procedure for issuing powers of attorney to represent the interests of a CBR participant in a particular bank.
— And it is even more effective to create a single database of issued powers of attorney to represent interests both in a separate commercial bank and in the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, — he said. — Our members periodically contact us in similar situations, but they have difficulty issuing a power of attorney due to the fact that they are on the front line.
Only some banks provide the technical opportunity to create a power of attorney in the bank-client service, but this applies only to a specific bank, and in blocking situations it is often necessary to contact several organizations and the Bank of Russia at once. Therefore, a single database of powers of attorney is needed, the specialist added.
At the same time, there are also many complaints from the participants of the SVO about fraudsters who are trying to steal their funds, Nina Ostanina, chairman of the State Duma Committee on Family, Women and Children, told Izvestia.
— There have been a lot of complaints about fraud involving payments received by participants in a special military operation. After all, protective measures are needed to ensure that this money does not go to scammers," she said.
On the front line, fighters do not always have the opportunity to check whether their accounts are safe, the deputy stressed.
— Military personnel do not use these accounts themselves. It is clear that their accounts are used by family members of military personnel, but not always all this is done with the consent of the serviceman himself," Nina Ostanina noted.
The deputy is sure that it is absolutely impossible to weaken the protection of bank accounts: the money that the participants of their military services receive is under special protection.
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