Elizaveta Pastushenko has commented to Pravo.ru on the position of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation on the use by banks of a foreign passport to identify a citizen

In a dispute that reached the Supreme Court, a bank refused to allow a representative of a current client to open a new account due to the provision of a certified copy of a foreign passport rather than a general civil passport. ThSupreme Court of the Russian Federation  emphasised that the lower courts should have established the law that prohibits banks from conducting identification on the basis of a foreign passport, recalling that a Russian general civil passport is not the only identification document.

“The problem of using a foreign passport for various financial transactions is often relevant for those who change their general civil passport. And it is also relevant for persons who, because of their stay abroad, cannot promptly obtain a new passport,” Elizaveta Pastushenko, Senior Associate of Private Wealth Practice at Maxima Legal, told Pravo.ru.

According to the expert, the approach expressed by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation was previously supported by practice. “Thus, a similar case is reflected in the review of the practice of the Supreme Court of the Chuvash Republic in civil and administrative cases in 2016. The court determined that a foreign passport is an identity document. It may be presented to a bank to identify individual clients. At the same time, the Central Bank in its letter No. 12-4-4/4472 dated 19 October 2020 states that a bank has only the right to identify a citizen on the basis of a passport. Therefore, in practice, such a document may not be enough if a bank employee has doubts,” explained Elizaveta.

To read the full article (in Russain), please, see Pravo.ru website>>>