MOSCOW, September 16. /ITAR-TASS/. The Bank of Russia on September 16, 2014 has shut down the stand-alone business units of the public joint-stock company Unex Bank (Kiev, Ukraine) and public joint stock company Legbank (Kiev, Ukraine) in the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol, the supervisory authority said in a release.

The offices were closed because of these banks’ failure to meet liabilities to creditors (investors).

The termination of the operation of the credit institutions’ stand-alone business units means their banking and other transactions, except for transactions related to the transfer of assets and liabilities, are banned in the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol.

The Bank of Russia decision to shut down the offices of Unex Bank and Legbank in Crimea and Sevastopol gives the right to the autonomous non-profit organisation Depositor Protection Fund to handle the bank offices’ deposits and make compensation payments.

According to the report of the Russian Central Bank, the decision to shut down the units of the Ukrainian banks was dictated solely by the need to protect the interests of depositors and customers, the legal rights of which have been violated, including due to the actual stopping of the bank units’ operation in the Republic of Crimea and Federal City of Sevastopol, as well as the lack of prospects for the resumption of their activities.

Under these circumstances, there was no way to effectively protect the rights of depositors and customers of these banks in these areas, other than terminating the activity of the banks’ units.

The competent judicial authorities will consider the civil rights claims to these banks, including these filed by the Depositor Protection Fund, in accordance with the standard procedure.