Russian banks could freeze accounts over partial matches with terrorist list

Russian banks could be given new grounds to temporarily suspend transactions if a customer’s personal details partially match information on individuals listed as terrorists and extremists.

Russia’s Federal Financial Monitoring Service, Rosfinmonitoring, has drafted amendments to legislation that would introduce the proposed mechanism, Caliber.Az reports via Russian media.

Under the proposal, banks would cross-check customers’ full names and dates of birth against data on individuals subject to asset-freezing measures. Rosfinmonitoring would separately establish the specific criteria for determining a partial match.

One possible case under consideration involves differences in the spelling of a first name or surname during transliteration.

If a partial match is detected, transactions on the account could be suspended for five working days, while Rosfinmonitoring would be notified. If the agency does not decide to extend the restrictions, access to the funds would be restored.

A similar mechanism is also planned for transactions involving digital roubles.

Rosfinmonitoring said the measure is needed to prevent people from circumventing existing restrictions by changing or modifying their personal data.

According to the agency, more than 800 people on the relevant list had multiple variations in the spelling of their personal details as of February 1, 2026.

By Sabina Mammadli