Central Bank of Russia proposes introducing personal liability for banks' top managers for compliance with anti-fraud procedures

YEKATERINBURG. Feb 20 (Interfax) - The Central Bank of Russia proposes introducing personal liability for top managers of credit institutions responsible for organizing anti-fraud procedures at banks, Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina said.

Banks must undoubtedly bear greater responsibility for ensuring that all necessary anti-fraud procedures are in place, Nabiullina said. "Banks can do a lot, and it should be noted that this is not starting from scratch - laws have already been enacted to improve banks' accountability. In particular, banks are required to reimburse individuals if they transfer funds to fraudsters' accounts that are listed in our database," she said at a press conference.

"We propose, among other measures, introducing personal liability for banks' top managers responsible for anti-fraud procedures, as these procedures vary from bank to bank," she said.

Fraud prevention procedures work very well in most large banks, she said. "Banks are successfully preventing, and the available statistics show this, an overwhelming number of fraud attempts," she said.

Speaking about the idea of creating a compensation fund for clients who transfer money to fraudsters without their voluntary consent, Nabiullina said this could be discussed. However, she pointed out the challenge of introducing unconditional financial liability for banks in cases where money is stolen through social engineering. There must be no "fertile ground for additional fraud," she said. "Fraudsters and clients could simply collude to withdraw money under the pretense that it was fraudulently taken. Therefore, all these risks need to be carefully assessed, along with additional measures. But key laws have already been passed, including important ones addressing credit fraud. They are only just beginning to take effect, so we need to evaluate their implementation and strengthen banks' responsibility for compliance with anti-fraud procedures," she said.