European Banks Are Shutting Russians Out: Why the Pressure Will Only Grow
For Russian citizens who keep money in Europe, 2026 has been the hardest year since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began. Banks and payment firms ask more questions, freeze accounts while they wait for answers and, more and more often, close them altogether. This is not a passing wave of caution. The rules behind it are permanent, the supervisors who enforce them are getting stronger, and every signal points to more pressure ahead.
Key takeaways
- Since 29 January 2026 the EU treats Russia as a high-risk third country for money laundering: every EU bank must apply enhanced due diligence to Russia-linked clients and payments.
- Wise, Revolut and N26 have already restricted or closed accounts of Russians without EU residence status.
- The new EU Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) collects risk data as of 31 December 2026 and will directly supervise the largest banks from 2028.
Russia on the EU high-risk list: what changed in January
On 3 December 2025 the European Commission adopted Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/46, adding Russia to the EU list of high-risk third countries with strategic deficiencies in their anti-money laundering regimes. It took effect on 29 January 2026. From that date, banks, payment institutions, insurers, estate agents and other regulated businesses across the EU must apply enhanced due diligence to any business relationship or transaction connected with Russia.
In practice this means more documents, longer checks and less tolerance for gaps. A Russian passport, a Russian place of birth or a payment from a Russian bank is now enough to put a client into the high-risk category. A bank that cannot confirm where the money came from has every regulatory reason to say no.
Who is already closing the door
According to Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service, the first half of 2026 was the toughest period for Russians with foreign bank accounts since February 2022. Its report names Wise, Revolut, N26, Commerzbank and BNP Paribas among the institutions that have revised how they serve Russian citizens and people born in Russia.
Some of these changes are already public. Wise required Russian and Belarusian card holders to prove residence in the European Economic Area by 30 January 2026, citing the EU’s 19th sanctions package of October 2025: a long-stay visa was no longer enough. From November 2025 Revolut began closing accounts of Russian citizens living in the EU on national long-stay (type D) visas. N26 has reportedly restricted clients over a mere Russian connection, pointing to the high-risk listing.
The pattern is the same everywhere: additional checks first, then limits on transfers, and finally a notice that the relationship is over.
Why the pressure will keep growing
Every development on the European calendar points in the same direction.
- Sanctions keep coming. On 23 April 2026 the EU adopted its 20th sanctions package against Russia: a transaction ban on 20 more Russian banks, new restrictions on payment and crypto services and, for the first time, the use of its anti-circumvention tool. Each package narrows the routes through which money can move.
- A new supervisor with direct powers. AMLA is collecting risk data from financial institutions with a reference date of 31 December 2026. National supervisors must gather it by 31 March 2027, and AMLA will then select up to 40 of the highest-risk institutions to supervise directly from 2028. No bank wants to look exposed to Russian money in that exercise.
- Financial centres are cleaning house. Monaco, grey-listed by the FATF in June 2024, has spent two years checking its banks and asset managers, with particular attention to clients whose source of wealth is unclear. The FATF may take it off the grey list at the plenary ending on 30 October 2026, and other financial centres have seen what that took.
Russia’s high-risk status stays in place until the Commission decides otherwise, and nothing suggests that will happen soon. Checks are set to become stricter, not softer.
