Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed off on a new law that mandates banks operating in the country to conduct inspections of all transactions made by individuals if there is suspicion of illegal activity. The law also allows for the temporary suspension of suspicious transactions for up to two days.
Under the new regulation, if a financial institution transfers funds to an account that has been identified by the Bank of Russia as fraudulent, the bank will be required to compensate the client for any losses. This compensation must be provided within 30 days of receiving a complaint from the client.
The law also includes provisions for terminating remote banking services for individuals suspected of fraud, if the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation provides information related to the initiation of a criminal case or records of crimes. The law will come into effect one year after its official publication.
In the first quarter of 2023, credit organizations in Russia reportedly prevented the theft of 712 billion rubles (about $9.6 billion). This was achieved by identifying and stopping approximately 2.7 million unauthorized operations. However, there were 252.1 thousand successful attacks resulting in the theft of 4.5 billion rubles (about $61 million). The majority of victims were individuals who lost money in 251.5 thousand cases, according to a report by the Bank of Russia.
In April, the Minister of Finance Anton Siluanov announced plans to introduce a digital ruble into circulation by the end of 2023. Siluanov highlighted the advantages of the digital currency, including the ability to track all transactions, thus preventing illicit financial activities. The Central Bank has already launched an experiment with the digital ruble this year, and it will be officially introduced once the relevant legislation is adopted.