MOSCOW, January 10. /TASS/. The Bank of Russia has recommended that banks conduct in-depth checks of clients on the List of Entities with Signs of Illegal Activities and Pyramid Schemes if their operations are recognized as suspicious by the Know Your Client platform, the regulator reported.

"The Bank of Russia advises to conduct in-depth checks of clients on the List and, should their operations be recognized as suspicious, to refuse to carry out operations with them. After two refusals within one year, a bank may terminate a bank account agreement with a client. Moreover, if such a client is assigned a high-risk level in the Know Your Client platform, the bank should also consider raising the client’s risk score. This will entail ‘blocking’ measures, i.e. clients will be unable to dispose of funds in their accounts and may be subsequently removed from the official registers of legal entities/individual entrepreneurs," the report said.

Banks may also apply a number of anti-money laundering measures, except for refusal and blocking measures, to counterparties of companies bearing signs of illegal activities and pyramid schemes.

The regulator recommends that banks constantly explain the risks associated with transferring funds to illegal entities to their customers. Compliance with the recommendations will help limit illegal activities in the financial market and protect consumers, the Central Bank stressed.