Why is this important
The norm removes from victims of online fraud the risk of debt burden on a loan issued in their name without their will, and translates the dispute to the legal plane — through the confession of the victim. This changes the practice for banks and microfinance organizations: if the fraud is confirmed, they must stop accruing interest and collecting it, and then recover the damage from the guilty party. At the same time, the rule states the opposite scenario: if the fraud is not confirmed, the accrual and recovery will resume.
What happened
- The Ministry of Justice, in conjunction with the Central Bank, has registered the Regulation on Minimum Requirements for Ensuring Information and Cybersecurity and Preventing Fraud when Providing Remote Financial Services to Individuals by Credit and Payment Organizations and Payment System Operators.
- The document establishes that a credit institution shall cease accruing interest and collecting interest on an online loan if the loan was registered in the name of a citizen as a result of fraud and the citizen is recognized as a victim based on a procedural decision.
- It also provides for the right of a credit institution to recover damages in recourse from the person who committed the fraud (any unlawful or fraudulent actions), and a mechanism for resuming recovery if the fraud is not confirmed.
Numbers and facts
- A credit institution shall terminate the accrual of interest and recovery on an online loan formalized as a result of fraud, provided that the citizen is recognized as a victim based on a ruling of the investigator, inquiry officer, prosecutor, or court.
- The credit institution may recover the material damage caused in recourse from the person who committed the fraud when issuing an online loan.
- If fraud is suspected, the credit institution may file a complaint in accordance with the procedure established by law.
- If, based on the results of the inquiry/investigation, or by a court decision, it is established that there is no fraud, the credit institution will resume accruing interest and collecting debt on the online loan.
Context
- For borrowers, the key condition becomes the procedural confirmation of the victim’s status: without it, the termination of accrual and recovery is not applied.
- For banks and payment organizations, this means the obligation to suspend work with the debt in case of confirmed fraud and transfer the recovery to the guilty party through recourse.
- For the system as a whole, the rule provides a clearer procedure for actions in disputed cases: first verification and procedural decision, then either termination of the penalty or its resumption in the absence of fraud.
