MOSCOW, October 23. Russian banks opposed the bill, which allows law enforcement agencies to access information from credit institutions, RBC reports with reference to a letter from the Association of Banks of Russia.
«The bill was submitted to the State Duma in August 2023. According to the document, the Ministry of Defense , FSB, FSO, Foreign Intelligence Service and the Ministry of Internal Affairs can obtain access rights, including remote access, to various information systems and databases,” the publication explains.
It is assumed that access will be possible only to information about certain individuals, the list of which must be approved by presidential decree, RBC notes. But in addition, the ADB statement says, banks will have to not only provide the intelligence services with the requested information, but also comply with their requirements to ensure the confidentiality of the personal data of their employees. Operators of information systems will also have to immediately inform law enforcement agencies about the identification of information about the departmental affiliation of intelligence officers, the article says.
«According to credit institutions, the concept of the bill cannot be supported,» the association said, in which includes the largest banks — Sberbank, VTB, Gazprombank and others. They believe that this initiative contradicts the law on the protection of secrets and many others, and will lead to a violation of the constitutional rights of Russians.
ADB concluded that the bill needs significant revision.
The head of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Alexander Khinshtein, told the publication that the position of the banks will be considered.