The market for issuing bank guarantees is practically non-transparent, which is why fraud is rampant here. Counterfeiting of bank guarantees is quite common, and countering counterfeiters who specialize in such fraud is very difficult. However, there are several ways to recognize a fictitious guarantee and protect your business from the losses associated with accepting it.
The increased demand for bank guarantees has provoked the growth of the shadow market, whose participants are actively promoting their services for registration of fakes. However, fraudsters can be countered if you know several ways to verify the authenticity of a bank guarantee.
Method 1: use information on the official website of the Bank of Russia
Here you can get a lot of information about any credit institution, both active and closed. The section "Reference information on credit institutions" contains all banks that have ever received a license to conduct operations. It is enough to type the name of the bank in the search box, and you will find out:
• corporate name of the bank, its BIC, OGRN, registration number and address of the parent organization;
• presence or absence of a license;
• a list of existing branches and other structural divisions with exact addresses.
By carefully checking the details of the credit institution specified in the bank guarantee with the data presented on the Bank of Russia website, you will be able to recognize the most gross forgeries made with errors. In addition, in this way it is possible to determine guarantees issued on behalf of a bank with a revoked or revoked license.
On the site you can find turnover sheets, profit and loss statements, calculations of the amount of standards. Information about whether bank guarantees were issued is available on the revolving sheet. All issued guarantees are recorded by the bank on off-balance sheet account 91315. The presence of a balance on it indicates that this credit institution has indeed provided guarantees for a certain amount. If the balance on account 91315 is less than the figure indicated in the document, or even zero at all, you are holding a fictitious guarantee in your hands.
Information about whether a guarantee was issued in accordance with the requirements of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation can be gleaned from the bank's statements in form 134. To do this, you need to open the statements for the month in which the guarantee was issued, find in it the section "Equity (capital)" and compare the number indicated there with the amount of the bank guarantee provided to you. The amount of any guarantee cannot exceed 25% of the equity capital. If the ratio is not respected, it is a false guarantee.
Method 2: on the official website of the bank that issued the guarantee
In accordance with the requirements of Law No. 93-FZ and Letter of the Central Bank No. 111-T, the Bank of Russia obliged all credit institutions to disclose information about whether the bank has structural divisions that ensure the issuance of bank guarantees, as well as indicate the contact details of specialists competent in this matter. You can contact the structural unit of the bank by calling by phone, or send a letter of inquiry by e-mail with a request to confirm the authenticity of the issued guarantee.
