US Sanctions List Cannot Block EU Bank Account Access

Inclusion on a US sanctions list cannot in itself be grounds for refusing to open a bank account in the European Union, the EU Court of Justice ruled on Thursday.

The case concerned the Slovenian bank Nova Kreditna Banka Maribor, since acquired by OTP Group, which had refused in 2022 to open a basic account for a client on the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions list. The person concerned had not been convicted of any crime related to the listing and was not subject to UN, EU or Slovenian sanctions.

The court recalled that every legal resident of the EU has the right to a basic bank account, while banks must also comply with anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing rules. Inclusion on a third country's sanctions list may be a factor in risk assessment, but cannot automatically lead to the rejection of a client.

OTP Group said it would continue to follow AML rules and assess risks on a case-by-case basis.

(reuters, bak)