UAE banks start closing accounts of russians

UAE banks have restricted settlements with Russia and started closing accounts of Russian companies and individuals due to the risk of secondary sanctions, Vedomosti reports. The newspaper's interlocutors claim that the difficulties began long before the US President's decree on secondary sanctions was issued in December 2023.

The "wave of purges" in large banks began in September. And in second-tier banks, clients from Russia had to purchase additional services or increase their account balance to maintain services.

The publication explains the tightening of requirements by the ownership structure of banks in the country – the three largest banks in the UAE are directly or indirectly owned by the state, but each of them has a large share of foreign participation.

At the same time, there are still opportunities for Russian businesses to open an account in the UAE, as the decision depends not least on communication with local elites, sources say. First of all, it is important not to have anything to do with sanctions and to be ready to participate in investments within the country.

The UAE has become the third country where banks have started closing accounts and refusing to serve clients from Russia. Earlier, Russians faced such problems in Turkey and China.

The problems became known after US President Joe Biden issued a decree that allows banks found to be facilitating the circumvention of anti-Russian sanctions to be cut off from the US financial system.

Background. Earlier, Bloomberg reported that currency from Turkey and the UAE was being brought to Russia and exchanged for gold.