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Anti-Russian sanctions

Moscow court rejects first ever lawsuit vs MasterCard over card blocking

The lawsuit was filed by Alexander Moskovkin with Moscow’s Meshchansky District Court for blocking his card issued by the sanctioned SMP-Bank on March 21

© ITAR-TASS/Tevgeny Kurskov

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Russian Finance Ministry, Central Bank mull helping banks affected by sanctions

MOSCOW, October 15. /TASS/. A Moscow court rejected on Wednesday the first ever lawsuit filed by a Russian national against MasterCard international payment system over his card being blocked without any prior notice after the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Russia.

The lawsuit was filed by Alexander Moskovkin with Moscow’s Meshchansky District Court to claim 100 rubles ($2.5) in moral damages and over 400 rubles ($10) in financial compensation from MasterCard for blocking his card issued by the sanctioned SMP-Bank during purchases in a Moscow supermarket on March 21.

The lawsuit was the first ever claim filed in Russia against the US payment systems after the United States imposed sanctions on Moscow. The plaintiff expected a favorable court ruling to set a precedent in the Russian judicial system, after which hundreds of thousands of Russian nationals, whose cards had been blocked over the US sanctions, could file similar lawsuits against Visa and MasterCard payment operators.

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