US Sanctions Listing Does Not Justify EU Account Ban

The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled that a person’s inclusion on a US sanctions list cannot automatically justify refusing them a bank account in an EU member state.

The ruling concerns a case from Slovenia, where Nova Kreditna Banka Maribor refused to open a basic account for a client listed by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in 2022.

The court emphasized that the person had not been convicted of a crime linked to his inclusion on the US list and was not subject to EU, UN or Slovenian sanctions.

Under EU rules, every legal resident of the bloc has the right to a basic bank account, provided anti-money-laundering and counterterrorist-financing requirements are met.

The court said inclusion on a third country’s sanctions list may be considered as part of a risk assessment, but is not in itself sufficient grounds to refuse a business relationship.

“The mere inclusion of a customer’s name on the OFAC list, or any other list of that type drawn up by a third country, does not automatically prohibit a bank from establishing a business relationship with that customer”, the court said.

(reuters, max)