# Monaco Banks Have Begun Closing the Accounts of Wealthy Russians

> Monaco's financial regulator has tightened checks on banks and asset managers, putting the accounts of wealthy clients with Russian ties under close scrutiny, with roughly a third of the problematic client files identified linked to Russia.

- Source: Monaco Day
- Canonical URL: https://monacoday.com/en/article/monaco-banks-have-begun-closing-the-accounts-of-wealthy-russians
- Author: Camille Rousseau
- Section: Society
- Published: 2026-09-19T13:18:53.528Z
- Updated: 2026-09-19T13:18:53.528Z
- Tags: amsf, monaco-banking, russia-sanctions, anti-money-laundering
- French edition: https://monacoday.com/article/monaco-banks-have-begun-closing-the-accounts-of-wealthy-russians

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Monaco has tightened the checks imposed on its banks and asset management companies, putting the accounts of wealthy clients with Russian connections under close regulatory scrutiny. About a third of the problematic client files identified during the checks are linked to Russia, according to The Moscow Times, as reported by UNN.

The checks are being carried out by the Autorite Monegasque de Securite Financiere, the AMSF, as the principality works to exit the Financial Action Task Force grey list, on which it was placed in 2024 over shortcomings in combating money laundering. The regulator inspected UBS Monaco, Banque Havilland, Julius Baer, Guardian Management and International Corporate Structuring. The violations identified included insufficient checks into the source of clients' wealth, their possible criminal, sanctions related or political ties, and suspicious financial transactions.

Among the clients identified in data published by the regulator was Saodat Narziyeva, sister of Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov. UBS Monaco closed her account in March 2025 after the regulator found the bank lacked sufficient documentation on the source of funds gifted to her by her brother. Julius Baer, for its part, ended its relationship with Viktor Fedotov, the former head of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, after the regulator found the bank had reported its suspicions about the client only a year after the relevant grounds had emerged.

The AMSF also raised concerns over services provided to Leonid Novitsky, brother of Russia's former agriculture minister Yelena Skrynnik, and to Alexey Fedorichev, owner of Fedcominvest. Fedorichev had been suspected of corruption and money laundering in Ukraine, and in 2024, assets linked to him worth 41 million euros were seized in Italy at Kyiv's request.

The checks also affected other wealthy clients with Russian connections whose identities have not been disclosed. In some cases, the regulator recommended that banks close the accounts because it was impossible to verify the source of the capital or explain the economic rationale behind the transactions.

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Originally published by Monaco Day. Free to cite with attribution and a link to https://monacoday.com/en/article/monaco-banks-have-begun-closing-the-accounts-of-wealthy-russians.