Among those who have tightened their checks are financial institutions in Armenia and Serbia, where difficulties are observed in conducting operations through certain credit organizations. Compliance checks have also been tightened in the banks of Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Oman. These changes in banking policy occurred after the European Commission included Russia in the list of countries with a high risk of money laundering and terrorist financing, which was perceived in Moscow as a politically motivated decision.
Earlier, Politico reported that Russia's inclusion in the European Union's blacklist would force financial institutions to ramp up checks on all transactions and take additional measures to reduce risks.
Some banks in Armenia have indeed become more cautious when processing outgoing payments in dollars and euros for Russian clients, as confirmed by Andrey Gusev, a senior partner at the Nordic Star law firm. According to him, this is not about direct bans, but some operations may be suspended, require additional checks, or be completely rejected. This is related to the increased control in the fight against money laundering and the requirements of correspondent banks from the EU and the USA.
