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Russian citizen appeals court ruling rejecting suit against MasterCard over blocked card

The lawsuit was the first ever claim filed in Russia against the US payment system after the United States imposed sanctions on Moscow over its stance on the Ukraine crisis

MOSCOW, November 13. /TASS/. Russian national Alexander Moskovkin has appealed against a Moscow court ruling on rejecting his lawsuit versus MasterCard international payment system over his card blocking without any prior notice after the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Russia.

The plaintiff said he was requesting in his appeal to repeal the court’s judgment and grant his claim.

The Moscow Meshchansky Court rejected in mid-October the first ever lawsuit filed by a Russian national against MasterCard over his card blocking.

Moskovkin filed the lawsuit 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 system after the United States imposed sanctions on Moscow over its stance on the Ukraine crisis.

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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