OREANDA-NEWS Three large Czech banks — Creditas, UniCredit Bank and ČSOB — have started closing accounts for citizens of Russia and Belarus, writes local newspaper E15 with reference to clients of these organizations. According to them, banks cancel accounts without warning and even if they have a work or student visa.

Representatives of Creditas and UniCredit banks confirmed to the publication that they are closing accounts of Russian and Belarusian citizens. The director of Communications of Creditas, Lucia Brunklikova, said that the organization has not opened new accounts to Russians since the beginning of hostilities, and also canceled all accounts in rubles. ČSOB denied the statements of the sources.

According to UniCredit representative Peter Plocek, the organization has long been applying special rules for opening and maintaining accounts for persons from non-EU countries. To create an account, both legal entities and individuals from such states are required to prove a "reliable and reasonable connection" with the Czech Republic. The norms that the bank adheres to are not published. "UniCredit is extremely cautious about individuals from countries included in the high—risk list by the Financial Analysis Authority (FAA) (a division of the Czech Ministry of Finance - approx. <url>). Nevertheless, the bank does not act in a general manner, but always on the basis of an assessment of the specific situation and the risks that this client poses to the bank. This means that in case of cancellation of the account, a specific risk for the bank should be determined," adds Plocek.

E15 sources nevertheless state that they handed over all the necessary documents to the banks, but the accounts were still closed without explanation. For example, Irina, a Russian woman, was unexpectedly cancelled by the bank ČSOB, although she lives in the Czech Republic on a work visa and has a contract with a local employer. She needed the bill to receive her salary and pay for rent.