The pause in the revocation of bank licenses in Russia, which lasted all last year, apparently ended. In the incomplete three months of 2024, the third bank lost its license, which is the same as for the entire 2022. The Bank of Russia demonstrates a tough position towards market participants who decided to engage in illegal payment traffic. It is the conduct of illegal payments, especially between individuals, that is now in the center of attention of the Central Bank and serves as the main basis for extreme supervisory measures.
The Bank of Russia in March revoked the license from Strela Bank (321st place in terms of assets). The regulator motivated such tough measures by the fact that the credit institution violated federal laws and regulations governing banking activities, as well as regulatory rules “in the field of countering the legalization (laundering) of proceeds from crime and the financing of terrorism.”
In addition, according to the Central Bank, the bank “specialized” in transfers between the Kiwi Bank (recently lost license) and other participants in the banking services market. Significant volumes of such operations were aimed “at ensuring settlements between individuals and shadow business (money transfers in favor of crypto exchanges, illegal online casinos, bookmakers) and were high-risk,” the regulator points out.
In 2023, the Central Bank did not revoke a single license, and for the entire 2022, three credit organizations lost their licenses. In early March of this year, the first deputy chairman of the Central Bank Dmitry Tulin emphasized that there was no moratorium on license reviews – banks “just did not give reasons.”
“Ahead is the growth of personal income tax and the strengthening of the struggle of the Federal Tax Service to withdraw small and tinyl businesses from the shadow. It is very likely to await limitation of cash movement,” Sergey Khestanov, economist, associate professor of the RANEPA, said.