Blocking bank accounts

Chronicle

2025: Investigators in Russia allowed to stop transactions with bank accounts of suspects without a court decision

Home Office Russia developed a bill allowing investigators and interrogators to suspend transactions with bank accounts of suspected criminals without a court decision for up to 10 days. This became known on February 4, 2025.

According to TASS, the bill provides for amendments to Article 111 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. To suspend operations, the investigator will need permission from the head of the investigative body, and the investigator will need the consent of the prosecutor.

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Фото: Freepik

Igor Cherepanov, Deputy Chairman of the Board of the Russian Bar Association, notes that the changes are aimed at increasing the effectiveness of combating crimes in the field of information technology. The new mechanism will allow you to quickly respond to attempts to withdraw stolen funds.

The document provides for blocking operations if there are grounds that the funds on the account of the suspect or accused were used in the commission of a crime. This also applies to advance payments and electronic funds.

Within 10 days after blocking, the investigation is obliged to receive a court decision on the arrest of accounts. Otherwise, the restrictions must be removed. At the same time, the suspension of operations does not entail the automatic withdrawal of funds to the Russian budget.

The bill was successfully approved by key departments: the Ministry of Justice, the Investigative Committee, the FSB, the Prosecutor General's Office, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Digital Development and Rosfinmonitoring.

After the restrictions are introduced, the suspect or accused will not be able to replenish the account, withdraw cash or close it. All restrictions are subject to mandatory control by the prosecutor's office and the judiciary.

The bill also reduces the time to provide information from banks and electronic payment operators to three working days, and in some cases to 24 hours. Previously, the average time to receive such data exceeded one month.^[1]

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