⛔️ Portugal 🇵🇹: Caixa Geral de Depósitos Begins Closing Accounts Held by Russian Citizens

⛔️ Portugal 🇵🇹: Caixa Geral de Depósitos Begins Closing Accounts Held by Russian Citizens

The state-owned bank Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD) has notified certain customers holding Russian passports that their bank accounts will be closed starting on August 14. The notifications began being sent on June 9, after the bank requested some clients to update their personal information in April.

➡️ However, the notifications were not limited to Russian citizens without ties to the country. According to reports, they were also received by individuals with Russian nationality who legally reside in Portugal and work for Portuguese or European companies.

➡️ According to the bank’s instructions, funds available in the affected accounts may be withdrawn only in person at a branch.

➡️ In addition, the bank requires clients to return unused checkbooks and all instruments for account access and management of related accounts (including bank cards).

➡️ Context: it is difficult to estimate the exact number of Russian citizens in Portugal — statistics by nationality are not published, although the number could involve at least thousands of accounts, considering the popularity of “golden visas”. The presence of income or money transfers linked to Russia is considered a higher-risk factor from the perspective of sanctions and AML/KYC procedures.

➡️ Geopolitical context? — since the beginning of 2026, there has been a clear trend of account closures affecting Russian passport holders not only by banks, but also by payment systems and fintech providers. Despite the absence of new restrictions from the European Commission, banks across EU countries are moving toward a “portfolio cleansing” approach regarding Russian clients.

#news #Russia #Europe #sanctions

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