“You can’t eat.” Putin was persuaded not to block Russian accounts under the law on electronic summons

Contrary to rumors, Russian authorities have no plans to block accounts of Russians as part of the law on electronic subpoenas that President Vladimir Putin signed into law last week. This was reported to The Moscow Times by a high-ranking government official.

The law already allows citizens to close out of the country by simply sending a summons through the State Services, and in the event of failure to appear within 20 days, it is forbidden to drive a car, open a business and make real estate transactions.

Blocking accounts, which would perhaps be the most effective measure, is not specified in the document. And this is a “principled position,” a source tells The Moscow Times.

“Buying or selling real estate, loans, driving licenses, trips abroad are usually not related to a basic human need. But using the account to go to the store – despite the fact that in state institutions people are also paid non-cash – is connected, ”explains the official.

“That is, the conditional card of Sberbank, on which a person’s salary drips, is a sacred thing that cannot be tampered with,” he adds.

The government and the Central Bank, the structures responsible for the stability of the banking system, are opposed to card blocking, explains political scientist Abbas Gallyamov. In September, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu estimated the “mobilization resource” at 25 million people, and the danger of being blocked is that the threat alone could force millions of Russian military servicemen to withdraw money en masse from their accounts.

So far, the arguments against blocking have proven stronger. But the final decision rests with Putin, notes Gallyamov: “Of course, the Ministry of Defense and the regional authorities responsible for mobilization will lobby for all kinds of tightening for those mobilized, including methods of exerting influence by blocking bank cards.”

Economist Vyacheslav Inozemtsev believes that the lockdown will eventually “definitely happen”, and if necessary, the law will be amended at the same pace, allowing such a measure. This is a good way to stop “money leakage” abroad: those recruits who have already left the country with their card blocked will not be able to transfer money to their own foreign accounts, explains Inozemcew.

In addition, by blocking accounts, any “remote work” can be rendered pointless – he continues: “Customers will not pay their wives or grandmothers with cards, [что оплата была получена]. So if the goal is to make people give up and come [в военкомат]Closing accounts and cards is definitely a necessary measure.’