Largest Cypriot bank has closed about 20,000 Russian accounts since 2022

The Bank of Cyprus, the country's largest bank, has closed over 20,000 accounts belonging to about 7,000 Russian citizens since February 2022.

Source: Frank Media, a Russian business news outlet on finance and economics

Details: The outlet noted that the Bank of Cyprus has been cutting Russians from its client portfolio since the first sanctions against Russia in 2014.

The share of Russian clients in its portfolio has fallen from 4% to 0.4% since 2014.

The majority of Russian-held accounts at the Bank of Cyprus belong to elderly citizens. A spokesperson for the bank stated that account closures were determined based on "international compliance standards" and the bank's internal risk management policy.

"When asked about the bank's future approach to Russian citizens, Le Cannoux [the bank's representative] stated that 'the bank reviews and assesses potential relationships with Russian citizens who legally reside in Europe, are not subject to international sanctions, and are engaged in permissible activities that align with the bank's policy'," the news outlet noted.

Background: Thales and Safran, both under investigation for allegedly aiding Kazakh defence contractors in helping the Russian Federation circumvent sanctions, reported that they have been adhering to sanctions regulations since 2014.

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