National Bank of Ukraine withdraws Ukrainian banks from Crimea

The Ukrainian National Bank decided on May 6 to halt the operations of all Ukrainian banks on the Crimean peninsula due to impossibility of financially monitoring operations after Crimea was occupied by Russia in March 2014.

“Taking into account the impossibility of supervision and financial monitoring of Ukrainian banks in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, the Ukrainian National Bank decided to temporarily to halt the activities of Ukrainian banks in this territory,” according to the National Bank of Ukraine official website.

Compensation of the material costs to private individuals, legal entities, foreign citizens and stateless people, caused by the result of occupation, should come from the occupying state, according to the norms and principals of international law, a statement by the bank said.

Additionally, the National Bank of Ukraine revoked the licenses of two Crimean banks, Morskoy and ChBRR, and delisted them from its electronic payments system.

Photo courtesy of Xsandriel