Blocking an account is one of the most stringent and effective measures designed to prevent the conduct of expense transactions that contradict the norms of domestic legislation, or to ensure the satisfaction of monetary claims against the debtor. There are a number of legal grounds for blocking an account.
Blocking a current, current or deposit account is a temporary restriction on spending transactions, which is imposed by the bank. In this case, the crediting of incoming funds to accounts occurs without any restrictions. Article 858 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation provides 2 grounds for blocking accounts:
- seizure of funds on the account - the bank blocks a certain amount, but you can use the remaining money;
- suspension of transactions on accounts - the owner cannot transfer or withdraw funds.
These interim measures guarantee the safety of money intended to pay off the account holder's debt to the budget, legal entity or citizen.
Reasons for the seizure of the account
The seizure of funds is imposed by the judicial authorities on the basis of a court decision or an order of the bailiff. The grounds for arrest are considered:
- a court order acting as a measure of securing a civil claim in criminal proceedings;
- a court ruling used as a measure of securing a claim in civil proceedings;
- the requirement to apply to the property of the debtor collection.
Suspension of operations
Russian legislation provides for several grounds for the suspension of debit transactions on bank accounts. In particular, Article 76 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation allows you to block the accounts of companies and entrepreneurs in the event of:
- failure to comply with the requirements of tax authorities to pay taxes, or fines, penalties;
- failure to submit a tax return within the established time frame;
- making a decision based on the results of a tax audit.
The meaning of these locks boils down to providing an opportunity to collect tax arrears from the taxpayer. The account can be unblocked either after paying off the full amount of debt to the budget, or on the basis of the decision of the Federal Tax Service Inspectorate to cancel the suspension of operations.
One of the most common reasons for blocking an account is the fulfillment of the requirements of Law No. 115-FZ, concerning the suspension of transactions if they may be related to money laundering or terrorist financing. Legislators have compiled a fairly wide list of transactions that are suspicious, so banks are given the opportunity to independently suspend debit transactions for up to 5 days. During this time, the account holder is obliged to document the "purity" of the transactions or to clarify the origin of the funds received by him.
In addition, the bank can suspend operations for up to 30 days, having a resolution of Rosfinmonitoring, or completely terminate debit transactions on the account, based on the corresponding statement of Rosfinmonitoring, up to its revocation.
