The Bank of Russia has announced that it plans to extend until December 31, 2025, the right of microfinance organizations (MFOs) and consumer credit cooperatives (CCCs) to not disclose certain information about themselves that could be the basis for imposing sanctions against them.
According to the Central Bank’s statement, MFOs and CCCs will be allowed to not disclose information about individuals under whose control or significant influence credit institutions are located, about members of the organization’s governing bodies, and information about risks and transactions the disclosure of which may lead to the imposition of sanctions by foreign states, government agencies, or government associations.
In addition, MFO were allowed not to include debt owed by military personnel involved in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict when forming reserves as restructured debt.
Before microfinance organizations, Russian banks had the right to conceal their shareholders. In March 2022, after the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine, the Bank of Russia allowed banks not to disclose “sanctions-sensitive information” and not disclose the composition of shareholders and governing bodies. At the same time, the Central Bank removed information about bank owners from its website. Later, the Central bank extended its permission for banks to not disclose information.
