Russian banks do not work with clients holding ”passports” of the self-proclaimed Donbas republics – the so-called Donetsk People`s Republic (”DPR”) and Luhansk People`s Republic (”LPR”), despite a decree issued by Russian President Vladimir Putin to recognize such ”documents,” according to the Russian media outlet RBC.
None of the top 30 banks has directly confirmed it is ready to serve customers with such ”passports” – in most cases, the banks either did not respond to an official request from RBC, or vaguely reported that they could serve only Russian citizens. Only several banks have officially admitted their internal policies do not allow them to work with holders of such ”documents,” RBC wrote.
Russia`s Sberbank, which has a subsidiary in Ukraine, said the pseudo-republics had not officially been recognized, therefore their ”documents” could not be accepted for banking operations.
Russian lawyers interviewed by RBC say that Russian banks should work with all documents that are recognized by Russian legislation, but the owners of ”documents” issued by the ”DPR” and the ”LPR” are likely to face such difficulties.
Earlier, Putin on February 18 legalized the use of ”DPR/LPR”-issued passports and other identity documents, namely birth, marriage/divorce certificates, car registration plates, in Russia. Putin`s decree stipulates that the ”DPR/LPR” documents are recognized temporarily until the situation in Donbas has been settled.
In turn, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said that the recognition by Russia of fake identity documents issued by the so-called ”DPR/LPR”, the self-proclaimed republics in Donbas, required the strengthening of anti-Russian sanctions, as it proves the Russian occupation of Donbas and violates the Minsk peace agreements on Donbas.
