Amendments on access of the Ministry of Justice to banking confidentiality: how will this affect CSOs?

26 January 2021

Draft legislation has been published on the inclusion of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation in a list of departments with access to banking confidentiality. According to the explanatory statement, this will enable more effective oversight of the financial activity of CSOs.

The draft legislation on the inclusion of the ministry in a list of government departments entitled to receive confidential financial information from credit organisations has been made  available for public consultation. There are plans to amend Article 26-F3 On Banks and Banking Activity.

The ministry’s press office emphasised previously that the implementation of this proposal would not have “negative socio-economic, financial or other consequences for civil society organisations acting in accordance with the law”.

According to the draft legislation, information on the financial and economic activity of CSOs is required to verify that an organisation is operating in accordance with its stated aims. This information can be obtained from credit organisations and other financial organisations. However, the law On Banks and Banking Activity does not include provisions on the right of credit organisations to provide the ministry with information which constitutes banking confidentiality.

Source: https://www.asi.org.ru/news/2021/01/26/minyust-dostup-k-bankovskoj-tajne-discuss/